Interesting Times
by JohnTFS
Summary: Buffy (from TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer) takes a dark, violent thrill-ride in the World of Darkness with the fate of two worlds at stake.
1. Chapter 1

times01

Interesting Times __[_by JohnTFS_][1] ****

INTRODUCTION

The story is a crossover between the universe of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the World of Darkness. The World of Darkness appeared, in edited form, in the short-lived TV show, Kindred, The Embraced. I'll attempt keep the specialized terms and mythology of the World of Darkness to a minimum and explain it where I can't. 

The concepts and characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Whedon, the WB, and other people than myself. Since you're almost certainly a fan on Buffy, you'll know which stuff Joss owns. The setting of the World of Darkness and all terms associated with it (Malkavian, Crinos, etc.) belong to White Wolf publishing. You can probably find a fairly complete listing of what White Wolf owns in this story by going to The [White Wolf Home Page][2], assuming you're really that curious about it. With a couple of very notable "real life" exceptions, all the other charcters, concepts, situations, etc., belong to me. In other words, if you're Joss, the WB or White Wolf, I am making absolutely no money from this so please don't sue me. 

By the way, you can consider this story to be rated R for graphic violence, some sexual content, strong profanity and adult situations. While BtVS exists on TV and is bound by certain broadcast standards, the World of Darkness setting has no such restrictions. The WoD is a dark, scary, violent place in which Evil Plots are a bit more successful than on Buffy and Bad Things happen on a regular basis. In short, if the stuff I'm warning you about is offensive to you, don't read this story. 

Read the Story

Part One 

Buffy completed one last patrol circuit near the graveyard and finally decided to head home. Wherever the fang gang was, it wasn't in Sunnydale. Not that there wasn't excitement. Oh no, Gemini Development, a division of the Pentex corporation, and wasn't everyone sick of _that _addendum; had announced plans for a shopping mall to be constructed. 

The prefab shell would be ready and open for business by the beginning of summer. Cordelia had almost been orgasmic at the news. _Something that probably hadn't happened since last weeks date with Xander,_ Buffy thought nastily. She sighed and continued her walk, heading for a McDonald's for chow. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the form following her. 

After waiting in line a bit, Buffy had her meal in relative peace and left McDonald's. She was still scarfing down a few fries when she sensed something behind her. It was a large, ratty looking dog. His, (for some reason it seemed like a "him") fur was dirty and there was no collar to be seen, but the creature seemed friendly enough. He walked forward, tongue out, toward her. 

Buffy tensed slightly, even to a Slayer, a wild dog could pose a problem. The dog stopped short of her, sniffed toward the food in her hands and whined pitifully. It was obviously intent on seducing her of her fries. "No, you're not getting my fries, a Slayer needs her food." said Buffy attempting to shoo the dog away (And on reflection, the creature looked a bit more like a coyote, than a dog). The creature just looked longingly from her to her fries, the same pitiful look that said "Feed me!" Finally, with a growl of irritation, she complied and the beast wolfed down the remains of her meal. Then it stiffened, and answered her growl with one of its own. 

But her Slayer-enhanced instincts had already sensed peril. "You shouldn't be so quick to feed the hungry beasts, Buffy. You never know when they'll bite the hand that feeds them." Angelus was there, his lips looked human, if one ignored the trace of blood on them. 

"What's the matter, jealous?" taunted Buffy, to cover her own pain. "Go home, boy." she commanded the dog, "The Slayer's just gotta take out some old trash!" With that she launched a flying kick at him and drew forth a stake. 

The kick caught him in his perfect face, hurling him backwards as two other vamps lunged out of the darkness. The dog, in a bizarre display of fearlessness, leaped at one of them, its teeth sinking into the creature's shoulder, making it hiss in pain. 

Buffy, meanwhile was beginning to have problems. She was having trouble watching Angelus and his buddy at the same time. As she moved to avoid the second vampire's rush, Angelus caught her a vicious kick to the ribs. Pain flared in her side and she felt bone give before more than human strength. The other vamp attempted to take advantage, rushing her. At the last instant she got the stake up and in his heart. He vanished into ashes. 

"This night the Slayer is slain!" declared Angelus, his face a twisted parody of the one she'd loved. He kicked her beneath the chin, sending her sprawling. He leapt on her. She was ready with stake, but not ready enough. The wooden implement plunged into his stomach. He grabbed it, ripped it out of himself and hurled it away. "Now you die!" he hissed. "And all you love after!" 

"Not in *this* lifetime." she promised and kicked his wounded belly, throwing him away from her. She got to her feet and they faced each other. 

The dog was still pinning the other vampire, sustaining deep scratches on his flanks to do so. Angelus charged again. Buffy prepared to flip him with a tai chi move, but he'd feinted and snap kicked her in the knee. She fell and he was on her, punching and trying for the killing bite. 

She shoved her cross against his flesh and he hissed in pain. But his agony strengthen him. He pounded her face into the road, Once, twice, three times. As she finally blacked out, she could swear the growls of the dog sounded almost...human.[times2.html][3]

Scratches-at-Fleas saw the battle going poorly. Despite her skill, the girl was losing to the leech she fought, as her injury weakened her. As the vampire pounded her face, Scratches-at-Fleas shifted to the Hispo form. 

The vampire fighting the large dog gasped in shock. In the space of seconds it had transformed into something out "American Werewolf in London. Its shock died as swiftly as it did though, Scratches knocked the things head from its shoulders with one swipe of his now huge paws. Then Scratches faced his final opponent. 

Scratches-at-Fleas assumed the crinos form, and growled "Flee or die, leech!" 

Angelus looked up to see a huge shape. It was easily seven feet tall, resembling the werewolves from "The Howling", but far more menacing for its physical presence. The thing bounded forward with deceptive agility and knocked Angelus sprawling. The vampire rolled to his feet and hissed in rage. Then it turned and fled. There would be another time. There always was. 

Scratches sniffed and licked the girl, but aside from steady breathing there was no response. He knew naught of this place, but the girl needed help. He gathered her still form in his arms and loped away to find the way home. 

Fortune was with him tonight, for the humans were indoors. Those that weren't he easily avoided. He was growing frustrated though. He couldn't fully understand the human's signs. Some instinct made him stop before one store, "Fred's Antiques". He called upon his spirit gift and looked inside. 

The inside was dark, but his gift made it seem nearly light as day. He saw what he needed inside, against the wall. His concentration cost him though, as pain burned across his huge shoulders and a gunshot echoed in the night. 

Silver bullets, fur-ball" grinned a vamped out, triumphant Angelus. "Time to get me a new rug _and_ a tasty snack!" As the vampire aimed again, Scratches-at-Fleas acted. 

Shielding the girl, he leapt through the plate glass window and strode to the mirror he'd seen inside. He rubbed his fetish tattoo and tried to concentrate, to banish impending death from his mind. 

Angelus ran to the shattered window, gun held ready. Inside, he saw the werewolf, Buffy in his arms, leap at a mirror inside and vanish! In a rage he entered ran to the mirror, smashing it, trying to find a secret panel. Nothing! With the store's alarm stinging his ears, Angelus fled into the night. 

[times2.html][3]

Pain. Pain and darkness. And now disembodied voice pierced Buffy's mind. "Whoa, major babeage." came a California surfer like voice. "Great, now even the _dog's _bring in strays." came a young, sarcastic, female voice. "Grrrr!" this a growl, apparently in answer. "Bite me, flea bag." came the girl's response. 

"I should take care, Melissa," came another girl's voice, though this one sounded more mature somehow. "Scratches might take you up on the idea." "Yeah, right. How come_ he _gets to take home a stray and _I_ don't?" asked Melissa. 

"Because of what happened last time." came the older girl's voice. "Yeah," said Surfer dude. "I kinda think Hanson would've wanted their lead singer back." 

"Andru, why don't you french-kiss my- Hey, I think she's up!" With a groan Buffy opened her eyes. 

The group clustered around her was eclectic to say the least. The guy, Andru, sat in a wheelchair. He wore VR goggles that covered his eyes and wrapped around his stringy blonde hair. Torn jeans and a food stained "Neuromancer" T-shirt completed the ensemble. The girl had passed eclectic and into the strange. She was tiny, maybe five feet tops and probably weighed less than ninety pounds. She appeared to be asian but it was hard to tell. Her eyes were outlined in a raccoon mask of black make-up. Her hair was dyed albino white with purple, red and green streaks through it. She wore a black fishnet halter top and what appeared to be yellow bermuda shorts. She was glaring at Buffy, who recognized her as a vampire. 

The other girl seemed unaware or unconcerned about her companion's undead state. She seemed the most normal, if one ignore the chain mail armor she wore and the broadsword, presumably hers that leaned against the wall. Buffy could sense something off about her as well. Meanwhile the dog she'd seen earlier was sitting up seemingly grinning. 

Buffy looked around, she was apparently in someone's bedroom, maybe the vamp's. Posters of Hanson, Jewel and some group called "Baby Chorus" adorned the walls. There were no windows. A florescent light provided illumination. 

Buffy licked her lips and looked from one face to another. "Um, who are you guys." 

Melissa looked back at her and replied. "We're the Rat Pack. And you're gonna help us save the world."[times2.html][3]

[Chapter 2][4]   
  
  
[http://slayerfanfic.com/][5]

   [1]: johntfs@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://www.white-wolf.com/
   [3]: times2.html
   [4]: times02.html
   [5]: http://SlayerFanfic.com/



	2. Chapter 2

# Interesting Times

#### _[by JohnTFS][1]_

### Chapter Two

* * *

"Excuse me." said Buffy "I am _so_ not into this conversation. Somebody give me the TV-guide version." 

The older girl sighed and began to speak. "A corrupt corporation called Pentex wishes to establish a stable gateway into the Umbra, the astral plane. Should they success, they'll be able to summon monstrous horrors from the edges of reality." 

Buffy looked puzzled "And this has _what_ to do with me?"

Andru spoke at this point "Well, since they're establishing a foothold in your reality, I'd say it's got a lot to do with you." 

Buffy's mouth dropped open. "What do you mean, my reality? What are you people on drugs?" As she spoke she readied herself to spring. She'd take out the vamp first, then chain mail chick and get some answers from the geek. 

"Oh Jesus, we don't have time for this shit!" This came from the vamp. The vampire girl strode to the window and yanked back the curtains. "Come here. Look out the window. Pick your jaw up off the floor. Then we'll talk, okay?" 

Warily Buffy stood and walked to the window, body tensed for an ambush. She looked outside. At first she saw nothing strange. Then she noticed that the stars seemed a lot brighter somehow. And there was something blue just out the corner of her eye. 

Melissa spoke again. "Yo, 'Dru, turn this sucker to the right, 'kay." They saw the blue thing come into focus. Growing to fill the window was a large planet. Earth as seen from orbit. 

"Ohmygod!" Buffy gulped in shock.

"Don't feel too bad!" consoled Melissa, "It freaked the shit outta me when I saw it, too. Oh, yeah. That's our Earth, by the way. Yours is a couple dimensions that away." she said hooking her thumb to the right. 

"Mel." said Andru "You're seriously not helping this situation." 

The older girl, Rebecca spoke again. "What Melissa says is true. Our valiant companion, Scratches-at-Fleas, rescued you from a losing battle with the dark forces stalking your world. He used his ability to travel the Umbra to bring you here that you would be healed." 

Melissa nodded. "So don't pull that crap about not knowing the supernatural score. Flea bag there told us how you wasted one young vamp and were seriously staying level with an elder." Buffy grimaced slightly then asked "Scratches?" At this point the strange dog she'd fed her fries to padded over to her and looked at her with more than animal intelligence. 

"Don't tell me. Let me guess. Werewolf, right?" As she spoke the dog began to shift, first growing into a huge primitive likeness of itself, then into a giant wolf man creature, then shrinking again and growing more and more human. Finally, where once stood a dog there was a rough looking, hairy teenager. Oddly enough, as the final stages of transformation completed, an overcoat had seemed to spring from his flesh. 

The young man looked at her with penetrating brown eyes. "Actually," he said, in a voice that seemed unused to speech, "We call ourselves the Garou."   


Several worlds away, the Pentex construction site began climbing toward wakefulness.Currently, its power was just a thickness in the air, but it was slowly growing in might and menace. Just behind that thickness, many, many awful things waited, but not for very much longer.

"Garou?" said Buffy. "That's just a fancy name for werewolf." 

"No more than "human" is a fancy name for human," replied Scratches. He spoke slowly, pronouncing each word with exacting care, like a student driver in a driver's education except the speech was his vehicle. 

"Okay, I guess so," Buffy said.Despite her acquaintance with Oz, Willow's werewolf boyfriend, it still took Buffy a bit to get used to the idea of talking with someone she'd started to think of as Rin-Tin-Tin.

"I thank you for your offer of food, earlier." Scratches said. "The 'fries'", he paused at the unfamiliar word, "were most tasty." 

"Um, you're welcome," Buffy said uncertainly.Her only previous experience with a werewolf had been Oz, and that was nothing like this. 

"Look, can we get back to the damn point?" said Melissa, tapping one tiny foot impatiently. "She's up. She knows the whole 'creatures of the night' bullshit and she's probably not going to attack for at least a couple more minutes. Let's get back to the other stuff. What the hell are we gonna do about Pentex?" 

Rebecca started to speak when a loud beep emanated from outside the room. "E-mail." said Andru and wheeled outside. 

"Hold it, short stuff," said Buffy, relishing the feeling of being able to call somebody _else_ that hated moniker. At 5'3" most people she met were taller than she was. She continued speaking while Melissa ground her teeth and glared daggers at her. "Before you go back to your show, or whatever, I want a script. Where am I? Who are you people and what do you want with me?" 

Melissa sneered. "That's need to know and you don't--" 

Rebecca answered. "Yes, she does, Mel. You and Scratches check the transport tubes and prep them. We'll need them shortly." 

Melissa left grumbling and Scratches, now returned to canine form, followed. 

"First things first." said Buffy. "She a vampire. What's the deal?" 

"I know naught of the Kindred, the vampires, of your world," said Rebecca in a kind, though somewhat superior voice. "But in this one they are varied. Vampires are dead humans, somehow animated into life. They have a terrible thirst for the blood of mammals, including living humans. Beyond that, they are as varied in their capacity for good and evil as any other human. Melissa is sarcastic, pessimistic and cynical. She is also a good and loyal friend who has proven herself time and again in many desperate circumstances. Then and now, I trust her with my life." 

"Well, where I come from, vampires are evil. Period. Except for Angel." Buffy's eyes misted at saying that but quickly hardened again. "But that was because of some gypsy spell and now he's gone and he's not coming back." 

"Perhaps, perhaps not. When love is involved," Rebecca held up a hand to still Buffy's protests, "the impossible becomes quite possible. But we were speaking of other things. You would need to speak to Andru about this place, but as I understand it, it is a defunct outpost of the Technocracy, a group a wizards who utilize their magic through technology. This satellite is connected to the Umbra via a portal that Scratches created. Within the Umbra is another portal that connects to Earth. In this place myself and Andru can utilize our respective supernatural powers without fear of interference from the disbelief of normal humanity." 

"Supernatural powers?" asked Buffy, a little skeptically. 

Rebecca smiled and waved her hand at Buffy's ripped and bloodstained attire. Instantly the cloth began to mend itself and the blood vanished from it. Buffy, looked down at herself. "You guys must save a fortune on dry-cleaning!" 

"One cuts costs where one can," said Rebecca airily. "To continue. Andru is a mage of the Virtual Adept tradition. Using his programs and equipment and computers he can replace reality with "Virtual Reality" which then becomes real. He calls it "debugging the universe." I call it arrogance, but I do admit that he can do wonders, particularly if he has time to prepare in advance." 

"I should introduce him to Willow. Of course the rest of us would need an English to Computerese dictionary just to follow along." said Buffy. "Fine, what about you?" 

"I am Sidhe," said Rebecca. 

"She who?" asked Buffy. 

"Not she." said Rebecca. "_Sidhe_." As she spoke the last word she changed. It was not so much a transformation as the removal of a mask. Rebecca was tall, with flame colored hair that reached to her waist and violet eyes that pierced Buffy's soul. Her armor gleamed and seemed to transform the florescent light into sunshine. Her beauty stabbed Buffy in the heart and it actively hurt to look upon Rebecca. She was perfection made real.   


_______

  


"How come you never bring back anything good, huh?" Melissa asked Scratches.

The dog-like wolf just let a tongue loll from his mouth, obviously laughing at her.

"It's not funny, you know," said Melissa."If Devereax or one of the others finds out about this, we're screwed big time," 

"I think that it will not matter all that much," said Scratches, back in human form and now gazing at the transport tubes.

The tubes themselves looked unimpressive just scratched Plexiglas that Scratches had found in a landfill.Even in such humble things, there was still power to be tapped, so Scratches coaxed the power out and called a spirit to drink of it.Now the tubes conveyed the group down and back from where they needed to go.However, they needed to be examined ever so often, if for no other reason than to reassure their spirit occupant that he was still valued.

"So, are we gonna get zapped into a floor?" Melissa asked.

"I think not," said Scratches. "Of course, spirits are always unpredictable, particularly when their competence is questioned…"

"Oh, great…"

_______

Try though she might, Buffy couldn't tear her gaze from the vision that Rebecca had become. It was beyond sexual, the feelings she felt. It was pure beauty and dreamlike perfection and it held her motionless. And then it ended. 

"Wha- Wha- What was that?!" Buffy managed to gasp. 

Rebecca, tall, pretty, _human_ Rebecca smiled at her. "That was my true form. My form as one of the Sidhe." The armor clad woman sighed. "You do not understand." 

"You got _that_ right. I've seen vampires and werewolves and mummies and I've _never_ seen anything that was that..." words failed the Slayer. 

"It has been said the beauty of the Sidhe is indescribable. Apparently it is so." Buffy glared at her. "Peace." said Rebecca. "I will explain." 

Long ago, she said. There was magic and creatures of magic, such as dragons and unicorns dwelt freely among human. Among the magical beings was the Tuatha de Danan, the Fae. They would alternately aid or torment the humans each fae according to his nature, Seelie or Unseelie. This was not quite the same as good and evil, closer to law and chaos, but it fit well enough. 

In any case, about 500 years ago or so things began to change. The humans no longer believed in magic and the magic began to leave. Those creatures of magic that could flee did so. The rest hid themselves in impenetrable pockets of magic, adapted to the human world, or died in the banal winter of human disbelief. 

Those of the fae who adapted to humanity were called "Changelings" after the reported practice of exchange a child of the fae for a child of the humans. On the outside, among human the changeling were human. Inside, in special places of magic called freeholds, their true fae souls emerged and claimed their true shapes. 

The changelings spent and spend much of their time fostering dreams and creativity among the humans, gently encouraging them in hopes that one day, the magic will return. 

"So when the magic comes back, then everything becomes okay, right?" asked Buffy, a little skeptically. 

"I dunno about that, the hopes're that maybe us homosaps won't be so uncool then." said Andru as he wheeled into Melissa's room. He looked at Rebecca. "Bossdude's on the horn for ya, 'Bec." he said, hooking a thumb behind him. "Most cheesed out." 

Rebecca sighed in irritation. "All right. Stay here and keep our guest company, Andru." 

"Cool!" he said. 

"Try not to be too annoying." said Rebecca then she deftly plucked a pair of sunglasses from off his head.

"Hey! Those are..." he started. 

"And I doubt you'll need your X-ray goggles while here." she interrupted and then strode away. 

"Oops, fergot 'bout those." he said, blushing slightly. 

"Uh-huh" said Buffy, folding her arms over her chest looking at him pointedly. Then, noting his chastened expression and wanting as much info as possible, she decided to let him off the hook and said, "So you're a wizard or something, right?" 

"Yeah, sorta." he said, as he pulled an extremely advanced looking laptop up and started typing. 

"So do you like type 'abracadabra' or something and pull a rabbit out of your screen or what? And what was that stuff about magic coming back and debugging the universe?" asked Buffy in a challenging tone of voice. 

"Gimme a 3.5in disk." he said, "You've got one in your back pocket." 

"No, I..." she began reaching back to prove him wrong. She touched something plastic and pulled it out, a 3.5in disk. "This wasn't there before." 

"Maybe you had it with you and just forgot. I never touched you, the others can vouch for that," he said, the beginning of a smile creasing his face. 

"Then how did you know I had one?" she asked, suspicion coloring her voice. 

"Coincidence, just lucky I guess." She glared at him. "Okay, it was magic," he admitted with a smile. 

"Magic?" 

"Sure. I did an X-ray scan," at her expression he said, "you can do cool stuff with contact lenses and tomorrow's tech. Then I fed your clothing parameters into here," he said, patting his laptop. "Then I just pixeled in a 3.5in disk in your back pocket and rescanned. Oops, turns out you had a disk there all along. Don't look so pissed. I'm not a total slime. I set the scan to stop at secondary clothing. Nice undies, by-the-way," he finished in a surfer dude smug tone of voice. 

Buffy ground her teeth, but she wasn't going to smack a disabled guy and they both knew it. He passed a hand in front of his eyes and flicked it away, tossing the contacts away. "They dissolve and are disposable, I got plenty more. Okay, you want the real deal on magic, huh?" 

Not trusting herself to speak, Buffy just nodded. 

"Cool, here goes." 

Believe it not, some asshole Hermes guy put it really well. He said, "The universe is a woman, and must be wooed and won, rather than forced." That's the deal behind a lot of magic, just figuring out ways it could have happened naturally, sort of letting the universe cover her ass, so to speak. Like with the disk. I mean; it's _possible_ that you _could_ have already had it on you. That's coincidental magic. 

There's also vulgar magic. That's when you toss fireballs and teleport and do other stuff that there's no way in Hell people are gonna believe is cool with reality. That's forcing the universe to do stuff she doesn't want to do and generally she'll give you a smack for it. And if you screw up, either in coincidental or vulgar or especially in vulgar when there're folks who don't believe in magic, then she'll slap the shit out of you. 

That's called Paradox. Generally, it'll slap you according to your 'crime' against the universe. A guy who goofs up a fireball might suffer "Spontaneous Human Combustion" 

"Or, a guy who tried cure his sister, who got paralyzed by some rich drunk driving asshole, might ended up with his spine snapped and magic not able to fix it," he concluded. 

"I'm sorry," said Buffy, wincing in sympathy at his admission. 

"Why? You didn't run her over with your BMW, that puss wad did," said the young mage in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "And you didn't screw up the repair program, I did." 

"What happened to the drunk?" asked Buffy, expecting the answer. 

"Oh, they let him off. 'She ran in the street, nothing I could do, I'll go to AA, yadda, yadda, yadda.' Went out and bought himself a new Beemer." Andru's smile became distant and cold. "Yeah, one of those new computer assisted kinds. Damn shame. The system screwed up somehow and he drove off a cliff. It was six months to the day that he hit my sister. Talk about coincidence, huh. Oh, well. Accidents happen." 

Buffy swallowed at that. Then Rebecca's voice came from speakers. "Everyone report forward, I have news and it's not good." 

**[Chapter 3][2]**

### [Chapter 1][3]

[][3]

   [1]: MAILTO:johntfs@hotmail.com
   [2]: times01.html
   [3]: times02.html



	3. Chapter 3

Part Three

Buffy and Andru ran and wheeled, respectively into the hall on their way to the control room. As they did so, Scratches bounded passed them with Melissa close behind. 

Melissa had changed clothes, Buffy saw. She wore black and white checkered jeans and a T-shirt. She carried a gray, buckskin jacket over one thin arm. On the front of the shirt Buffy was surprised to read, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil..." As Melissa edged past, Buffy could read the back of the shirt. "...For my Smith and my Wesson doth comfort me." These words were emblazoned across a .44 Magnum shown firing. 

"Let me guess," said Buffy. "The gospel according to Dirty Harry?" 

"Beats the hell out of Jim Bakker," said Melissa 

"I suppose _that's_ true enough," agreed Buffy. 

"Yo, Mel. What's the sitch?" asked Andru. 

"Beats me all to hell. Maybe Deveraux found a fly in his soup and wants us to whack the waiter," she replied, sounding only half-kidding. 

"Who's Deveraux?" asked Buffy. 

"He's a boss dude kinda life form in our little club," said Andru. 

"Yeah," said Melissa. "He's French-English, from Quebec. Which means he gets to be really rude _and_ a bad dresser all at the same time." 

"Prejudiced much, aren't we?" commented Buffy. 

"Naw," said Andru. "We just know the guy, is all." 

"Is it always like this around here?" asked Buffy as they continued moving. 

"Hell no." said Melissa. "It's usually a _lot_ more confused than this. We got two other teams that live up here. We burn out three dust-busters a week just keeping up with Garou fur." 

"Grrr!" This came from Scratches as they entered the room. 

"Oh, go suck a Milkbone," replied Melissa in a breezy tone. 

"And on that note of cooperation and team spirit let us begin the briefing." said Rebecca looking over the group. "As always, what is said here is considered Most Secret. Divulging this information--" 

"--Will result in Blackthorn strangling us with our own intestines. Yadda, yadda, yadda we got the point," interrupted Melissa. "So what's the deal? I mean, we know where the Pentex site is on her world. We go in with a couple other teams, blow the snot out of it and go home." 

"We have some among us who are not familiar with team protocol, Ms. Wu," said Rebecca frostily. "Ms. Summers, I am uncertain how long you will be with us before we are able to return you to your home. Be aware that the matters we will discuss are secret. It is _vital_ that _nothing_ said here can be revealed. Do you understand?" 

"Sure, not a problem. I could always wait in the car," said Buffy snidely.

Rebecca sighed noisily. "As we have no car and cannot yet permit you to wander this place freely, and have no personnel to accompany you, _that_ is not an option. As the information I received may pertain to you, I suggest you listen. For Ms. Summer's benefit I will add previous background information in at least a summarized form." 

Melissa looked at her watch and then opened her jacket and pulled out a PowerAde Fruit Punch bottle, although the liquid inside was somewhat thicker than Fruit Punch. Buffy turned away. 

As Rebecca started to speak, Andru touched her arm. She turned to him and saw him discreetly holding a Snickers bar out to her. "Not going anywhere for a while...?" he smiled. 

Buffy smiled in return and took the bar. She turned back and saw Melissa giving her a flat, unfriendly glare. Not wanting to start something right there, Buffy ignored her and turned back to Rebecca. 

"I suggest that _all_ of you pay attention to this. It could save your lives." Melissa opened her mouth to speak but Rebecca overrode her. "Or _unlives_ as the case may be." Melissa shut her mouth. "Not then, this is what we know or at least believe to be true." Then Rebecca began the briefing in earnest. 

"Pentex has been dabbling in interdimensional travel for some time now, scouting the Umbra for worlds that would be suitable for exploitation if not outright conquest. As if we ever thought they'd be content with keeping their evil here. 

"For our guest's benefit, Pentex is an extremely large and powerful multinational corporation. Imagine a business that controls IBM, Microsoft, Exxon, and Citibank and you've got the picture. They are huge, but secretive. Unbeknownst to most of the rest of the world they are also allied with the forces of the Wyrm. In effect, they are demon-worshipers. Their ultimate goal is to effect the demonic possession of every living creature on the face of the planet, with ideas of these Fomori "hybrid" being able to survive on the polluted, desolate shell that Earth would become should their goals be achieved. 

"Garou have the ability to travel the Umbra to other worlds by using mirrors and other reflective surfaces. That was how Scratches got to Ms. Summer's world and brought her here when she was injured. Scratches was searching for signs of Pentex infiltration on other worlds. Until now, we've found no evidence of them. 

"To the meat of things. Mr. Deveraux contacted me about a situation that is developing within the state of Tennessee of all places. Apparently Pentex used a group of vampires, along with some corrupted Garou called Black Spiral Dancers to take the cub of the leader of the Sept of the River Wide.There was plenty of evidence left to indicate vampiric involvement. Tonight, there will be a crescent moon. When that moon rises the times will be auspicious for sacrificing the cub in a ceremony that we believe would create a permanent, stable gateway between this world and one other. 

"Our mission is to rescue the cub is possible or otherwise disrupt the ceremony, failure to do so may cost the lives of the inhabitants of two worlds their very souls," Rebecca concluded in an ominous tone.

"...Their very souls, huh." said Melissa. "Nice dramatic touch. Okay, where do we start?" 

"The River Widers know about the vamp angle, right?" asked Andru. 

"From what I can gather, yes they do." 

"Oh, crap." said Melissa. At Buffy's questioning look she said. "Most Garou hate the Kindred, they think we're all evil mainpulating bastards that sold our souls to the Devil or something." 

Scratches had shifted to human form. "That is untrue, Melissa. As Garou, we do not believe in the Christian devil, only the Wyrm. We believe that you are all evil, manipulating bastards who sold your souls to the Wyrm." 

"Hah, freaking hah!" said Melissa as Scratches smirked. "Anyway, the feelings are pretty mutual. Figure the sept's getting together a war-party and they're fixing to rip the heart out of downtown, what, Memphis?" 

"Yes, Memphis," Rebecca said, sounding slightly impressed. 

"Don't look at me like that. I may not have finished junior high, but I can damned well read!" Melissa insisted."Okay, so the wolves figure the vamps pulled the strings on the dog-, er, kidnapping. So they're going to tear apart any vamp or human that gets in their way, right. I'm guessing they lost the trail." 

"They did," said Rebecca. "The way is clear. We will have to divide ourselves. Scratches, you and I will go to the Sept and attempt to dissuade them from war. Andru will stay here and seek a way into the Pentex database to find details, if any, on this raid. Melissa will go into Memphis and speak with the vampires there, attempting to discover the culprits from that angle." 

"Sounds cool." said Melissa, nodding. "I find the nasty people and call in a combat team to take 'em out. Not a problem here." 

Rebecca sighed. "Unfortunately, a variety of crises of erupted down below, our more combat-ready teams are already committed. We are very much on our own here." 

"So what the hell do I do when I find the fucking vamps, dial 911? I'm going to need backup when the shit hits the fan. Most places I got friends of friends or at least assholes who owe me, in Memphis I got nothing. I hear there's a struggle between the Camarilla and the Sabbat. _And_ I think the Sabbat's getting the upper fang, if you know what I mean." 

"And what am _I_ supposed to do?" asked Buffy. "Just sit here and watch it all on CNN? Sorry, I don't _do_ CNN." 

"You are our guest here. This mission is very dangerous. To involve you in it would place you in _extreme_ peril, whatever combat abilities you possess." said Rebecca. "Aside from that, we need you to act as a kind of guide. In his haste to return here, Scratches was unable to properly mark a trail to your world. We need your affinity with your world to find it again. Aside from that, it would violate my oath of hospitality to ask you to share in this struggle." 

"Who's being asked?" asked Buffy. "Look, I'm not exactly a baby when it comes to this weird stuff, okay. The town I live in is located on something called a Hell mouth. That's like a gateway into _Hell_, okay. It's shut now, but it still attracts all kinds of vampires and monsters, which keep me _seriously_ busy.If these Pentex corporate jerks are messing around in my home, I want in on stopping them." 

Rebecca looked at Scratches, a question in her eyes. "I felt the sense of an unfamiliar evil while I was there, but I had no time to investigate before..." he looked at Buffy, who grimaced at the memory "events outpaced me." 

"Smooth, Scratches. You're gonna be a diplomat any time now." cracked Melissa. 

"Ms. Wu," said Scratches, in that same calm, careful voice. "Bite me." 

Melissa just smiled. 

"Still, with this new knowledge," said Rebecca, "we must alter our theory of events." 

"Yeah," said Andru. "Figure they don't even _need_ a stable gate. They're gonna sacrifice the kid and send the power through to the other side." 

"Shit." said Melissa in an awed, frightened voice. "That'll probably blow that Hellmouth thing wide open. The demons on the other side'll burn that world to goddamn cinder. Then they'll come here." 

Buffy swallowed in fear. "You've got to get me back home, I've gotta stop them!" 

"Wait, can you tell us about what, if any activity you saw Pentex engaged in?" asked Rebecca. 

"Well, they hired a local contractor to put up the mall and there were a few of their executives around, but I haven't seen any of them lately." said Buffy. "Why?" 

"Trying to send you back home now would be futile." said Rebecca. "Pentex didn't care about a stable gate. They're setting a bomb, effectively. Even if we knew your world's exact coordinates, which we don't, there's nobody to fight there. It would be a matter of unraveling the mystic forces that have been set up over what, months? The unraveling would take days, possibly weeks. No, if we're going to stop them, it has to be from this side." 

"And you guys are undermanned now, so you need all the help you can get, and I've definitely got a stake in this, because it's my world on the line." said Buffy, her voice filled with a grim determination. 

"You are correct," said Rebecca. "All right, Scratches and myself will still deal with the Garou, Andru will work the computer. Melissa was right.She does need backup.That is what you shall be." 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Melissa, raising her palms in protest. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd feel a _lot_ better working this thing by myself than with someone I don't even know." 

"You'll just have to adapt, Melissa," said Rebecca, her tone leaving no room for discussion. "It is still a good two hours until sunset in Memphis. Go help Buffy get outfitted for the trip. Talk things out.Bond, or something.But be able to do this job, unless you are saying that this task is outside your capabilities?" 

"I can handle it," said Melissa, still fuming slightly. 

"Can _you_ handle it?" Rebecca asked Buffy. 

Buffy nodded and looked at the smaller vampire girl. "I guess it's just you and me, kid." 

"Oh God." groaned Melissa, "I'm going into hostile vamp territory and I've got the killer cheerleader as backup. We are _so_ fucked."

"Okay, this here's the arsenal of death and destruction, always popular with the tourists," said Melissa. She and Buffy were standing near a large computer panel with a slot in it. 

"Why does it look like a vending machine?" asked Buffy, noting the knobs beside pictures of various weapons, most of which she couldn't readily identify. 

"Because Andru Clayton has a _very_ sick mind and he's the one who built this thing," Melissa replied off-handedly. "Okay, remember Star Trek, when the Enterprise folks wanted food or coffee, they'd just touch this panel and poof, there it is. Well, this thing uses nanotechnolgy to sort of assemble whatever kind of weapon you want, anything from a knife to a Stinger missile. It uses magick, sort of, but as long as it's here on the station, that doesn't matter. I hear they're going to test market something similar in heavy combat zones. You know, Bosnia, South America, most inner-city schools..." 

At Buffy's slightly aghast look Melissa said, "Jesus, I'm just kidding, sort of." 

Melissa touched the pad and out came a sawed-off shotgun; another touch produced a small semi-automatic pistol. 

"Okay, you're turn. It can read skin tone on me 'cause I'm a member and I preset my preferences. Just tell me what you want and I'll type it in." 

Buffy thought for a minute. She'd really like something like Melissa got, but Giles hadn't even let her use the crossbow much. Damn, best to stick with what you know, she thought. "Gimme a couple of stakes and some garlic, I've already got a cross." 

"Garlic?! What dysfunctional Hollywood movie bullshit are _you_ living in? Jesus!" said Melissa, her eyes rolling in disbelief. 

"What's wrong with garlic?" asked Buffy a sneaking suspicion crossing her mind. _Damn, I_ hate_ it when they change the rules! _she thought._ _

"Only that it doesn't work. Okay, top-down time," said Melissa. "You're gonna have to know some things about Kindred before we go down there. If we get neck-deep in shit and you start waving crosses and garlic around, we're dead. Period." 

"Fine, the 'Kindred' don't have problems with garlic. Are stakes still okay?" asked Buffy in an annoyed tone. 

"Look, why don't you just tell me about the vamps on your world and I'll tell how much is right and wrong for this one, alright. And tell me about you, too, I wanna who I'm takin' with me." 

Buffy took a deep breath and started explaining, wishing that Giles were here since this was really _his_ department. Then she got a mental image of the bookish scholar trying to deal with the acerbic Melissa and decided it was best he _wasn't_ here. 

Buffy found something else too. Melissa was a good listener. No acid commentary, or smart remarks for a change. Buffy found herself opening up about things she wouldn't normally have, especially about Angel, and Angelus. It was nice to be able to talk with somebody who really seemed to get it. 

At the end of it, Melissa looked worried. "You're not gonna like this next part. The guys you've been up against were pussies compared to the Kindred. The closet thing to a real Kindred I've heard you describe was that Master guy and even _he's_ a wuss compared with a lot of the really old fuckers." 

"Joyness." said Buffy. "I go from the Slayer to the Snack." 

"Whoa! Cool the black fog of despair. Kindred are tough, but they're not indestructible, at least not _most_ of them." said Melissa. "Lemme lay it out to you. We've got a couple hours 'til time to go." 

"First things first," Melissa started. "The biggest thing you have to understand is the Masquerade. The way vamps survive is by pretending, for the most part to be human. They won't do anything, if they can avoid it, to compromise that. 

"Way back during the Inquisition, normal humans actively hunted vamps. And a shitload of us were killed. Not by "Slayer" or special magic types, by regular human beings. Sunlight kills us and we generally have to sleep during the day. And when I say sleep I mean coma. Fire kills us. Side note, generally, when you're going up against the supernatural, fire'll kill damn near anything, Vamp, Garou, Mage, Faerie, anything. Okay, teeth and claws of vamps and werewolves, you know, other supernatural types, that kills us. Also, getting our heads ripped or cut off, that'll kill us too. The stakes don't kill us, but if you get 'em right where the heart is, it'll paralyze a vamp 'til it's removed. 

"Garlic doesn't work. We show up in mirrors. Usually. We can go anywhere we want using lockpicks or just smashing the door down. If a vamp's chasing you and you need to hide, best place is in public. They won't do anything too outrageous that'll goof up the Masquerade. They still might shoot you though. 

"As for special powers, depends on that clan and the Kindred. Vamps are organized into clans, generally. Each clan has certain powers they're best at and some weakness that defines them. The Malkavians, for example, are good at Auspex, that's seeing or sensing stuff, kinda like psychically. They're good at Obfuscate, that's hiding, disguising or flat out going invisible. Or at least unnoticed. A guy good enough at Obfuscate could be standing right here listening and we'd never notice him until he wanted us too. Malkavians, and here's a cheery thought are also good at Dominate. Yeh, it's what it sounds like, except worse. The movie vamps just do that "look into my eyes" bullshit. I can do that too. I can also make you not remember what happened after I told you to "look into my eyes" or remember something different. "That lightheaded feeling from having you're blood sucked, that's just an inner-ear infection, don't worry about, it'll clear up on its own." 

"Only the Master ever did that," said Buffy. 

"Dominate's a pretty common power. Most vamps try to learn it at least a little 'cause it's so useful. At levels higher than *I* ever want to go with it, you can turn humans into robot slaves just about." 

"Oh, yeah. The Malkavian clan weakness: they're all nuts." 

"Say what?" asked Buffy. 

"No shit. They've all got some kinda insanity or derangement. Schizophrenia, paranoia, multiple personality, you name it; they've got it. You've got a whole vampire clan that's walking around fucked-in-the-head. Cool, huh?" 

Buffy just shivered slightly in reply. 

"Hey, there's a lotta scary shit down there on terra-firma. Just think about the poor bastard human that runs into this stuff." said Melissa. 

"I do," Buffy said grimly. "That's why I'm the Slayer."

"Back to the lecture. You can take notes of you want. Second thing about the Kindred is, we're not stupid. Sure, we live forever as long as we got blood and we got all kindsa cool powers and stuff, but if it comes down to a fight between the humans and us we're still outnumbered by a good 100,000 to one or so. And humans got flamethrowers and White-Phosphorous grenades and Dragonbreath shotguns that can fuck up a vamp's whole night. So vamps got secret and got organized. There are two basic sects of Kindred society. The Camarilla and the Sabbat. The Sabbat believes vamps should be free of all restrictions, brotherhood of the fang and crap like that. Which pretty much means vamps rule and humans get penned up bred, and bled like cattle. No thank you. Far as I can tell, behind that "up with vampires" bullshit, there are some evil motherfuckers. 

"Then there's they Camarilla. I'm not going to say they're so much _better_ or more moral than the Sabbat. But they are subtler. Which is mostly good. They like living in human society and letting humans be human. Of course, like I said above, they're not stupid. They control certain humans. Some through Dominate, others through ghouling--get to that in a minute. Some through flat-out alliances or threats. What that means is: you fuck with a vamp, especially an important vamp, you don't have some hissing, fanged bastard at your door going "I vant to suck your blud!" 

Buffy laughed at that one. "Nice accent, not!" 

"I'm gifted," said Melissa. "Anyway, you get the cops at your door, or you get audited by the IRS, or the bank forecloses on your house, or you get committed to a mental institution because you believe in "vampires, of all thing." Vampires have their fingers in everything, police, fire department, business, education, health care, organized crime, everything. Of course, here's the best part. Most vamps want to be top vamp. They all wanna rule the world, so they spend most of their times trashing each other's plans and shit. The worst enemy of any vamps is another vamp. Vamps almost never cooperate unless there's a clear danger to all of them, and even then not for long. 

"What'd I forget? Oh, yeah, ghouling. Now listen close, 'cause this is _really_ fuckin' important. If you drink _any_ Kindred's blood three times in a row over a short length of time, you're Blood-Bound to them. Yeah, that's just as nasty as it sounds. I've heard it's like bein' in love except worse. This vamp is the center of your world; you'd kill your whole family if the bastard said too, or kill yourself. This bonding thing can happen to other vamps, too. On the plus side, any human that drinks vamp blood, is stronger than normal and can sometimes use those special Kindred powers, depending on how strong the vamp is who gave the blood. 

"God, what else can they do?" Buffy asked.

"Depends on the Kindred, their age, their clan, you name it," Melissa said."Just be ready for anything, hit first, hit hard, hit often and run like hell if that doesn't work.You sure you don't wanna catch this on CNN after all?"

"No," Buffy admitted. "But I'm going down there anyway."

"Buffy, Melissa, report to the tubes at once." came Rebecca's voice. 

Melissa zapped up a tote bag and created several other weapons to shove into it. "Just in case." she said. 

They went to the tubes and entered them. 

Instantly, Buffy was hit by a shattering feeling of disorientation. She was rising, falling, expanding and shrinking all at the same time along a field of blazing light and abyssal darkness. And then it was over. 

She felt herself being hurled into reality and somersaulted in the air, deftly landing on her feet. She looked around for Melissa. A pile of trash moved and Melissa struggled to her feet. "I _hate_ those things!" 

Shaking her head she joined Buffy. "Where are we?" asked Buffy. 

"You in the land o' Oz, bitch!" came a rough voice near them. 

They whirled and saw several gangers wearing what looked like cheap cloaks and carrying knives walking down the alley toward them. The apparent leader, a short scar-faced boy-man, smirked at them. "We the Wizard's O' Oz. An' I'm gonna luv usin' my wand on you!" 

She drifted into a fighting stance and saw Melissa joining her. Buffy looked the group over and smiled, unpleasantly. "Boy did you guys pick the wrong girls on the wrong night." 


	4. Chapter 4

Part Four

The Wizards moved to surround Melissa and Buffy, circling like a pack of sharks sighting bloody meat. "Oh, well," said Buffy "Best defense and all that." She launched a spin kick into the head of the first speaker, whom she'd informally designated as Rat-boy. Her booted foot crumpled his nose and sent him smashing into the alley wall. 

Three of the gang rushed Melissa; knives weaving in and out like snakes. "Bad idea there, dumbshits," she commented. 

"What?" said one. He was a huge, sulky-looking guy who was holding an honest-to-God sword. 

She pulled her sawed-off shotgun from beneath her jacket. "Because it's not real smart to bring knives to a gunfight." **Ka-Blam!** She discharged both barrels into the big guy. The impacts flung him backward and sent him crashing into a pile of garbage. 

The other two, unconcerned over their comrade's fate, rushed her from two sides, slashing at her. Melissa sidestepped one, but the other slashed her arm, tearing the leather jacket and slicing the flash beneath. "You fucker! That was my best London Fog!" In revenge she slammed the stock of the shotgun into his chin, sending him reeling back, choking on his broken teeth. 

Buffy heard the roar of the shotgun, but was busy with her own problems. Aside from Rat-boy, three other gangers faced her. One charged, attempting to distract her. As he reached her, she stepped slightly to the side, grasping his arm and torso and using his own momentum and her Slayer-augmented strength and skill to flip him. He sailed threw the air at another opponent, smashed into him feet first and landed awkwardly on the ground. 

"Fuck this Middle-ages shit!" panted her third panicky opponent. He clawed a cheap-looking revolver from his cloak and aimed at Buffy. But the Slayer was ready and rolled away from the shot. He moved in, cocking the pistol and grinning. "That Karate bullshit ain't savin' your ass again!" 

The garbage pile near Melissa exploded as the huge sword-wielder rose from it. His T-shirt was torn from the blast and blood stained it. Blood from wounds now healed. "Crap, you're a ghoul." Her other opponent charged her, knife held like the steely horn of charging rhino, well, thought Melissa, taking in the boy's size, maybe an anorexic rhino. 

The teen was wide-eyed as he charged and Melissa glared into his eyes. "You. Go kill him!" she said, exerting her will and pointing at the sword-wielder. For a bare instant, the teen hesitated, and then charged his fellow ganger. 

Buffy dodged another shot and found herself by a garbage can. She yanked off the top and rolled into the alleyway as the guy prepared to fire again. She hurled the lid at him. It smashed him in the stomach and he went down like a house of cards in a tornado. In her triumph though, she failed to notice her now recovered third opponent and he leapt on her back. 

The teen reached the sword wielder and tried to stab him, compelled by Melissa's will. The huge teen stepped back and plunged the sword into his comrade's stomach. Ripping it out he swung again, and the mind-controlled teen's head separated from his shoulders and rolled down the alley, his neck fountaining blood as his body hit the ground. 

The sword wielder stalked toward Melissa. He smiled, exposing fangs. "Your eyes cannot touch me. My will is too strong, little one." 

"Who says I'd _want_ you. There's at least gotta be a mind there for me to control." said Melissa. 

"Camarilla toy! We of the Sabbat are not fools. We expected that not all would be blind to the wolf-boy's significance. You and yours have thwarted us before. It is a pity you had no time to seek the "Prince." We should have wondered what you would say to his shattered skull!" 

The teen hissed and Buffy smelt the stink of used blood emanating from his mouth. "Gross! Mouthwash, discover it!" and flipped him away. He shifted in midair and landed on the balls of his feet. Buffy clapped her hands in a mockery of applause. "Oooohh! Very Kerri Strug! And what do we have for our toothy Olympian? Gold, Silver or Bronze?" The vampire hissed at her again and she felt a wave of fear wash over her. Remembering Melissa's earlier words, she let the fear flow through her and be gone, leaving only Buffy behind. "Nope, just wood!" So saying she hurled the stake she'd been drawing during her speech at the vamp. It slammed into the center of his chest and knocked him to the ground. 

The sword whistled slowly, easily through the air. "A pity that information will do you no good. Alas, when we Kindred struggle, it is to the Final Death. And in this little duel, as for victors," the huge Kindred smiled, "There can be only one!" He swung the sword at her. 

Melissa ducked away and the swing took her opponent off balance. "Maybe so," she said, bringing up the now reloaded shotgun and shoving it up under his chin. "But that one sure as hell ain't gonna be you!" She pulled the trigger. The force of the shot severed his head from his neck, sending it smashing into the alley wall before it and the body decayed into bone dust. 

Buffy turned to see the huge vampire decay. Then she turned back.The staked vamp was gone! 

"Buffy! Behind you!" came Melissa's voice. 

An agony of cold steel ripped into Buffy's side as her opponent, stake still in his chest, pulled free his knife to stab again. "Fool," he said "Your enemy must _have_ a heart for you to stake it!" Buffy stumbled back, blood flowing over her fingers as she tried to staunch the bleeding. 

The vamp advanced, hissing. His tongue was a two-foot snake-like thing the lashed at the stricken Slayer, trying to taste her pain. 

"You Motherfucker!" yelled Melissa. "You Sabbat make my blood boil! Now I'm gonna return the favor!" She reached out with a hand. He tried to move back, but she brushed his cheek anyway. 

Instantly he began screaming, a hissing choking sound. His skin began to pop and burst as the blood inside blistered outward, his eyes exploded in their sockets. Finally, his very skin turned molten and slid from his body before his whole form dissolved into nothingness. 

Buffy felt a coldness growing in her. Melissa knelt by her side. "Oh God!" said Buffy. "I don't wanna die again." 

"Forget that shit," said Melissa as she rolled up her sleeves. "You're not gonna." Melissa took the knife and cut deeply into her wrist, a vertical slash that reached the blood within. When it started flowing she placed the wound against Buffy's mouth. 

Buffy remembered other of Melissa words and tried to shake her head no. "Don't worry," said Melissa. "I'll still respect you in the morning." She forced the blood flow into Buffy's mouth. 

Buffy started to gag on the blood, but then felt a burst of heat emanate from her tongue and travel to her wounded side. The blood carved a hot, pleasurable, healing track down her throat, through her loins into the wound. She felt a pleasant itching in her side that continued as she drank more. Strength exploded into her arms and legs. Suddenly the flow stopped and she was in reality again. 

"Wha-, Wha-?" gasped Buffy. Except for a fading itch in her side, she felt fine. Better than fine. "What the hell was that?!" 

"I'm guessing you and what's-his-fangs never did the blood-sharing thing, huh?" said Melissa. "He probably didn't know about it." 

"What's the deal? I feel..." Buffy tried an experimental stretch. No pain at all. "I feel great!"

"That's the blood. For a while, at least, you'll be faster, stronger, tougher than before, until it wears off. You'll also be able heal even really nasty wounds a whole lot faster and easier. You okay?" 

Buffy looked at her. "Oh, thanks. I mean I guess I'd be dead, even if it was gross as hell, though. What was that you did to that guy?" 

"Magic. Boiled his blood. Hope it hurt like hell, too." she said. 

Buffy scowled at her as she retrieved her stake. "Eeeww.Vampsnot." Buffy wiped the stake off on some used paper towels in a can nearby and secreted it back in her jacket. "How come he didn't seem to mind the stake? And what was the deal with that *tongue*? That was _seriously_ nasty!" 

"I think he was a Setite. They're this cult clan based in Egypt and Haiti. They like to spread evil and corruption wherever they go." At Buffy's look she continued. "No lie. It's like a religious tenet or something for them. If they're in with Pentex on this, we could be in deep trouble!" 

"What are in now?Shallow trouble?" Buffy asked.

"Ha.Freakin' ha," the young-looking vampire commented sourly.

As she spoke Melissa grabbed one of the unconscious gangers.She bit into a wrist and started sucking. 

The boy was growing paler and paler when Buffy said, "Stop." Melissa kept sucking. "Dammit, Melissa. Stop it! You're killing him!"Buffy yanked the boy away. 

"What the Hell?" sputtered Melissa. "Look, I used up a lot of blood healing you up! I need to feed, and these sucker's will do." 

"I'm not letting you kill anybody," Buffy said. 

"Look, Warrior Princess. What the Hell do you think would've happened if we hadn't been who we were, huh? They'd have raped us, killed us and sucked us dry. And not necessarily in that order." Melissa glared at her and pointed a finger. "I'm gonna feed, and just this once, I won't kill 'em." She sucked on another one and let him go before he died. "But get this straight. We are going up against some stone-cold evil bastards here. I don't know how things are back in sunny old Sunnydale, but down here not every monster has fangs. Now, can you handle that, or do I need to send you back up to base so you can be morally secure when the shit hits the fan?" 

"I'll handle what I have to handle. But you can't beat the monsters, fangs or not, by doing what they do," said Buffy meeting her glare. 

Melissa held the gaze a few moments longer and then nodded. "Fair enough. Just don't get us killed 'cause you got squeamish." 

A groan from the trashcans interrupted their argument. The two girls walked over to see Rat-boy sitting up. His tried to crawl away when he saw the carnage that had been inflicted. 

"Ah-ah-ah." said Buffy, shaking a finger. "We've got a few question to ask you, oh wizard." 

He sneered at that two of them. "Lemme guess. Good-cop, Bad-cop?" 

"Nope," said Buffy as Melissa came over with the shotgun and she tapped her palm with the stake. "Bad-cop--" 

Melissa pointed the shotgun at his crotch and said, "Worse-cop."

* * *

The implied threat to his life and what little manhood he had was more than sufficient motivation to convince 'Rat-boy' as Buffy still thought of him to spills his guts, lest they be spilled in a less figurative manner. 

"Look, all I know is they told us to patrol this area and waste anybody the two new guys said to." 

"New guys?" asked Buffy. 

"You know, the guy with the sword and the snaky guy." said Ratboy. 

"Fine, when and where do you report back?" demanded Melissa. 

"I can't. They'll *kiil* me!" he wailed. 

"Yeah, maybe. But they're not here." She cocked the shotgun for emphasis. 

"We are." added Buffy. 

"B-By the Oakdale Mall. Stan's Tatoo's. That's all I know!" he said. 

"What about a kid? Maybe ten or so." said Buffy. 

"Never saw anybody like that." he said. 

"Shit!" said Melissa. "Okay, who else is at Stan's. And if you try lying, you'll try dying." 

"Ooh, very Jesse Jackson." commented Buffy. 

Melissa shot her a glare and looked back at Ratboy. "Well. *You* don't have all night." 

"Um, okay, there was maybe four or five more of us, and a couple more of those new guys that took over. And there was this one guy in a fuckin' suit. He got in charge. One of the new guys, h-, he made the fuckin' *shadows* grab Derek, the High Wizard and crush him like a Goddamn ragdoll! Ogod, they're gonna kill me!!" Ratboy started weeping. 

"Oh Jesus!" snorted Melissa. "Shut up and get the fuck away from here before I put you outta my misery!" As she leveled the shotgun at him, he scuttled away into the darkness. 

"So, where exactly *is* Stan's Tattoo's?" asked Buffy. 

"Dunno. So let's call information." Melissa said as she reached into the weapons bag and produced a cell phone. "I'll put it on speaker so you can hear, too." 

Melissa dialed and a surfer voice answered. "Yo, Batgirl, what's the haps?" 

"Goddamnit Andru, don't call me that! I hate that!" said Melissa. Buffy thought for a second she was actually blushing. 

"Uh-huh. Suure ya do. So watcha need?" asked Andru. 

"Look, we got some info and we need to know where uh, Stan's Tattoo's is. Not a prob. Sending homer coords now. Say, after ya waste the bad guys, you gonna get another tattoo, you know ta match the one on yer-" 

Click. Melissa pushed the off button. Buffy was just looking at her, one eyebrow raised in amused puzzlement. Melissa set her teeth and glared at Buffy. "Don't say a fucking word!" she said. 

Buffy raised her hand. "Don't worry, I am *so* not ready to deal with your personal life. Did he tell you where to go?" 

"Yeah, and I'm gonna tell *him* where to go when I get back up there!" Melissa growled. 

"While you were bonding with your 'S. O.', I found transport." said Buffy, walking out of the alley. Melissa followed. 

Outside the alley were several Harley motorcycles. "Oh, yes. They may've been geeks but they knew their bikes." said Melissa, running her hand down the seat of one of them. "C'mon, I guess your driving." she said. 

"Me?" said Buffy. 

"Yeah." said Melissa. "I just never got around to it, living in the city and all. Plus, there's no place to park on the satelite." 

"Um, I don't have my license yet." said Buffy. 

"You don't have a license for this world anyway." she said. "Look, can you ride a bike?" 

"Yeah." 

"Can you drive a car?" 

"My mom's." said Buffy. 

"Then put those skills together and let's fucking go!" she said. "Besides, I need my hands free to shoot something if I need to." 

"Like what?" asked Buffy, suspicion tinting her voice. 

"I dunno. Vamps, ghouls, some asshole goin' twenty in the fast lane. The usual." 

"Oh, okay." said Buffy. "You were kidding about that last part." 

"No comment. Oh," Melissa pulled out a couple of headsets. "Put one of these on, they'll let us talk without the bike drowning us out." 

"Good, Ive got some more questions." said Buffy as she gunned the back to follow Andru's map. 

* * *

Memphis blazed passed them. They noticed few cars on the streets and fires in several buildings. 

"What happened?" asked Buffy. "This reminds me of the L. A. riots!" 

"Yeah, that's how it usually works. When the Sabbat, or the Camarilla decide to take a city, they cause some kind of riot or disaster, like a blackout, to cover all the gunfire and explosions and shit that happen when they go to war. That way, whoever wins, the Masquerade is preserved." said Melissa. 

"What about the people that *live* in the cities?" asked Buffy, frowning as the wind whipped past her. 

"Generally shit outta luck, like people in most wartime cities." replied Melissa. "Hell, I don't like it either, but that's the way it is, at least 'til the powers that be decide otherwise." 

"Like this 'Prince' guy?" asked Buffy. "Who's the Prince?" 

"Dunno. I guess he's dead. A Prince is the Kindred ruler of a city. He and a council of the oldest, most powerful vamps in a city rule it. The council's called the Primogen. Collectively, they control the politics of a city, both Kindred and human. Most humans don't *know* who's really in charge of course, and those that do make damn sure the other humans don't find out." 

"Jesus." swallowed Buffy. "It's bad enough with Spike and Ag- uh, *Angelus*" she emphasied. "running around by themselves. I can't imagine what it'd be like if they were in charge of the place." 

"I can. Just go to any Sabbat-run city. Ultrahigh murder rate. Gangs everywhere. The Sabbat runs it a lot faster and looser and human life doesn't mean shit to most of them. They keep the Masquerade just enough not to get caught, but just barely. Eventually they're gonna fuck up and that's gonna be it." 

"Sounds to me like they'll get what's coming to them." said Buffy, a tone of righteous indignation in her voice. 

"You mean when the humans rise up and destroy their evil vampire masters? That shit only works in the Dracula movies. Remember real life. The Kindred have their undead fingers on the nuclear button. If it came down to it they'd nuke the world to save themselves. Go torpor for a few hundred years or so after ninety-nine percent of humanity got blown to hell or died of disease or starvation. Way I figure it, humanity's better bled than dead, you know." 

* * *

The pulled up about a half a block from the tattoo place. "Okay, the guy Ratboy said did stuff with the shadows, he's Lasombra. He can actually control shadows to take physical form and attack. Lasombra's can also use Dominate and Potence, so don't look in his eyes and remember he's gonna be stronger'n fuck, too." cautioned Melissa. 

"Do they at least have hearts?" asked Buffy. "I have *no* wish to go through *that* again." She rubbed his side in memory. 

"Figuratively, no. They're cold-blooded pricks, but you *can* stake them." said Melissa. "One more thing, the guys they have with them are probably ghouls, sorta like you, now." 

"You mean this blood thing is permanent?!" said Buffy, an unwelcome note of fear in her voice. 

"No, it's not." said Melissa. "But they *will* be stronger than normal humans. Do *not* get yourself killed trying to let them live." she said. 

"I'll do what I *have* to do, no more, no less." said Buffy in a stronger tone of voice. 

They crept quietly up to a window. 

"Where the hell *are* those idiots? How long does it take to destroy one relatively young vampire?" demanded a cold voice from inside. 

"Take it easy, Ravager. They're probably just playing with her." 

Melissa pulled an object that looked like a hockey puck from her pocket and gestured for Buffy to look away. Buffy did and Melissa hurled the device through the glass. An instant later a hellish blast of light exploded inside. 

"Aaaaah! I'm blind! I'm fuckin' blind!" 

"So much for a fair fight." said Buffy, moving to dive inside. 

"Fuck fair." said Melissa. "I play to win!" 

They dove inside and battle was joined.


	5. Chapter 5

As Buffy and Melissa burst through the windows they heard the cold voice from the back scream "Get them, you fools! Get them!" 

Buffy saw three gangers in front of her. Over to the side, behind a counter, was a dismembered corpse clad in a robe covered in astrological signs. Dead eyes stared in horror from a severed head that still wore a pointed hat covered in similar signs. 

Their enemies were recovering from their blindness was terrifying speed and one rushed her screaming nonsense incantations. Buffy met him with a snap-kick to his stomach. Her blood seemed to sing as he went flying across the room and slammed against a wall. 

Two others approached her more warily, and in the back she saw a figure leaving. The two in front pulled knives, leaving no further time for anything but fighting. 

*****

Melissa reversed the shotgun and, in deference to Buffy's sensibilities, smashed a ghoul in the solar plexus as he clawed at his flash-blinded eyes. He uttered a choking sound and she smashed him a couple more times in the back of the head to send him down for the count. The light from the grenade had faded leaving only a bare bulb which threw shadows all over the shop. 

"Shadows?" muttered Melissa, who then recalled one important bit of information. "Oh, fu-!" 

Like the tentacles of some prehistoric octopus the shadows, now solid lashed for her. Their master stood behind them, fangs exposed in a vicious grin. "I'm gonna eat well, tonight!" he said. "Young blood is _so_ tasty when it's cold." 

"I always thought I was kinda hot, myself," she replied and dove over the shadows at him. Or tried to. One of them seized her and she fell short. She could feel them tightening around her arms and legs, holding her helpless. The Lasombra approached her mouth open and ready to feed. 

*****

Another figure stepped from the back room. It was tall and beautiful in a cold, alien way if one ignore the spiked ridges of bone that spread like a fin from his, she guessed it was a he, bald head. The figure licked his lips and twitched clawed figures eagerly. "Time to play!" he said in a high-pitched longing voice. 

"Let me guess, not Pinhead." said Buffy. "I know, Bonehead!" 

One of the gangers swung his knife at her. She twisted and hurled his away. He stumbled into Bonehead who hissed. "Clumsy fool!" and shoved him aside. At his touch the ganger started shifting and twisting and screaming in helpless agony. His bones erupted through the flesh of his arms and legs, spurs of skull tore through his ears and nose, teeth grown horribly long shredded his bleeding lips. Finally as his internal organs were torn asunder, he fell in a pool of spreading blood. 

Buffy just swallowed bile at the sight. The other ganger had had enough and bolted for the door. A spear of bone lashed from the vampires hand and stabbed into the guy's back. With a sound like wet paper tearing, the vampire yanked back his spear. It came out, ripping a huge gout of blood and flesh with it. Torn meat glistened on the multiple barbed tips of the bone spear, which flowed back into the vampire's hand like water. He licked his hand clean of the red mess and smiled. "Tasty."

***** 

Melissa struggled without success as the vamp neared her. She felt something in her hand as he bent toward her, glistening fang exposed. Twisting her body, she managed to pull the trigger of the shotgun. The force of the shot tore through some of the binding shadow. That freed her arm enough to act. She plunged the object in her hand, a tattoo needle, into the vampire's eyes. He fell back screaming as the needle, which was turned on, shifted and buzzed in his eye socket. The shadows faded with his concentration. "You bitch! What did you do to me?!" he roared in agony. 

"I dunno." said Melissa, bringing up the shotgun. "Tried to write 'Ruby' on the inside of that empty freakin' skull of yours." She pulled the trigger again and blew away part of his chest. He lay there trying desperately to force himself to heal when she grabbed a "Wizard's" staff from a corner, snapped it in two over her knee and rammed the splintered end of it into his heart. 

She pointed a black-painted fingernail at him. "Now, stay!" 

As Melissa struggled to free herself, Buffy had her own problems. She grabbed a stake a threw at the thing's heart, but it bounced off an ultra-hard bone shield. The thing smirked. "Not even sticks and stones will break _my_ bones." 

"Yeah, right, Bonehead." said Buffy. It growled at her. "I guess words do hurt you though, huh?" 

"You don't know the meaning of pain, little ghoul-child. But you will," A spear of bone stabbed at her, she moved but the spear pierced her jacket and shirt. More spear hurtled toward her and she tore free, leaving her covering behind. _I am_ so _glad Xander's not here to see this,_ she thought, he'd go into hormone overload. She still had a bra, for all the protection _tha_* offered. 

The vamp licked its fangs again. "So much lovely flesh, aching to be cut!" it whispered in vile anticipation. 

Buffy looked around for a weapon. _Aha!_ she thought. _Gonna have to time this_ just _right._

Buffy had backed into a corner laden with tools. The thing smiled happily. "Nowhere to run, now. I shall cut you apart of consume you, piece by quivering piece!" 

"Consume this!" snarled the vampire Slayer. In her left hand was a cigarette lighter, in her right a can of paint cleaner. Flammable paint cleaner. She pressed the sprayer and flicked her Bic. Whoosh! Like the hand of a vengeful god the flame swept out and enveloped the vampire. It started running and screaming, but the fire was all-consuming. He fell near some rags and more cleaner. 

Melissa looked up and saw the growing fire. "Oh shit! We gotta go!" 

Buffy fled with her. They fled down the street as the store exploded into a fireball. 

"Oh great." said Buffy. "I lose my shirt and we _still_ get nothing." 

Melissa concentrated and a shirt appeared in her hands. "Told you I could conjure stuff," she said, forestalling Buffy's question. 

Buffy held the shirt out. On the front it said "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." 

Buffy stared at it. "Nice, but somehow it doesn't quite seem you, though." 

"Check the back." said Melissa. 

Buffy turned it over and sighed as she read it. "For I am the meanest motherf***ing bitch _in_ that valley!" 

As Buffy pulled on the shirt, a car sped past them. A car with a man in a business suit driving it. The man Buffy had seen fleeing out the back. 

"That's him! That's the guy!" Buffy cried, pointing at him. 

They ran to the Harley. "Well, come on!" said Melissa "Let get him!" 

Buffy gunned the engine and they sped off in pursuit. 

With a roar of power, the Harley sped in pursuit. Buffy concentrated on staying behind the car and felt Melissa bring something up beside her. Blam! A pistol shot sounded and Buffy swerved at the noise. 

"Goddammit it!" Melissa yelled peevishly, "Keep it steady!" 

"Try warning me before opening fire next time," Buffy responded. 

"Consider that a warning shot." 

The driver fired at them from his car, and Buffy swerved, cutting in front of a Mazda that had just pulled out into the road. With a honk and screech, the Mazda hit the brakes and was immediately rear-ended by a Camry. 

Melissa fired a couple more rounds, shattering the rear window but doing little else. Ahead, traffic was starting to back up. "Yes!" cheered Buffy, "We got him." 

"Not yet we don't!" said Melissa. The other car spun and turned into the mall parking lot. Many cars were gone because of the nearness to closing time, so he had room to maneuver. 

Buffy turned to follow, gunning the engine and narrowly missing a pickup truck. Honk! "Sorry!" yelled Buffy. 

"Stop the bike!" yelled Melissa. 

"Stop?!" yelled Buffy. _This_ is a car chase! We can't just _stop_" 

"Very Playing God! Stop anyway!" 

Growling, Buffy stopped. Melissa aimed the shotgun, which seemed to have an extra, larger barrel attached to it. 

"Oh no. That's not what I _think_ it-" started Buffy. It was. Fooosh! Something black and round was shot from the barrel. It hit under the car and exploded! The car flipped over in midair, smashing to the ground on its hood and skittering down the lot to crash in to Ferrari. The car alarm went off, filling the air with noise. 

Slowly, they approached the wreck on the bike. 

"Is he dead?" asked Buffy. 

"I don't- Oh, fu-!" said Melissa. Suddenly the tortured metal burst asunder and a huge wolflike _thing_ ripped free of the wreckage. Scraps of a business suit clung to its form. Unlike Scratches' wolfman form, this thing looked unhealthy, patches of fur seemed to have rotted away and been replaced by a greenish rash. Drool dripped from the beast's lips as it let out a hellish, baleful howl. 

The beast glared at the squealing Ferrari and slammed its clawed hand into the hood. With a pitiful, last beep, the alarm died. 

"Whoa!" said Buffy. "Score one for mighty dog!" 

"Yeah," agreed Melissa. "Always hated those car alarms." 

It growled venomously at them and shifted itself in an eyeblink to the form of a huge, prehistoric wolf form. "Uh-oh," said Melissa. "Remember those Black Spiral Dancers we told you about before, the corrupted Garou, that's one of 'em. He's not as strong in that form, but he's faster." 

"Lovely." commented Buffy. "I don't suppose you brought a really big Milkbone with you, huh?" 

"Fresh out." Melissa replied. 

"Guess we do it the hard way then." sighed Buffy. 

The thing started toward them, then sniffed the air. It seemed to grin, almost. Then, with a burst of speed, it turned and dashed for the mall. It burst through the glass doors and flashed inside. Screams erupted from within. 

"C'mon!" yelled Melissa. "If we don't stop him, that whole _mall's_ gonna be a food court!" 

Buffy gunned the engine and sped the bike toward the entrance. "Oh man," she said. "If Mom finds out about this, I won't get my license 'til I'm wearing adult diapers!" 

Melissa sped-dialed the cell-phone and Andru's voice came on the line. "I'm patchin' in a mall map and the security feed from the cameras! Go get that puppy!" Where the hologrphic map of Memphis he'd sent them had been, a map of the mall replaced it. Included on the map was a feed which told where the Dancer was on it. 

The bike burst through the shattered doorway, narrowly missing some people running for the exit. "Sorry," yelled Melissa. "She's a student driver!" 

"Mommie!!!" a child's voice rang out from ahead. The creature was stalking a girl of about six, anticipating the kill. Blam! A shot from the pistol stung its side. 

"No din-din tonight there Fido!" yelled Melissa as she fired again, this time missing. 

"-to the Jungle, we got fun an games…" the lyrics interrupting the earlier muzak. 

"Andru!" demanded Melissa. "What the _hell_ are you doing?!"

"…we got everything you want, how do we know you names…" Axl Rose shrieked. 

"Just tryin' to give you babes appropriate theme music. That's all. You can't do a high-speed chase to 'Feelings'. It's unnatural!" came the surfer voice. "What? I thought you liked Guns and Roses!" 

The beast leapt again, crashing into a Kodak film stand that had been unoccupied. 

"Look, Marge!" yelled a man. "It's the Wolf Camera mascot!" 

A woman near him nodded. "Boy, they are _really_ getting aggressive with their advertising these days!" 

It growled at them and they hauled. It turned and pointed a claw at the approaching bike. A glob of greenish energy shot from its paw. Buffy swerved as it narrowly missed them, striking instead the You are Here Map and dissolving it into hissing slime. 

"Oh yeah," said Melissa. "The really powerful Black Spirals can shoot Balefire, too." 

"Thanks for the timely tip," said Buffy, proud of the lack of irony in her voice. 

"You're welcome," Melissa replied. 

The wolf snarled in rage and headed for the stairs. It took them four at time. Buffy gunned the engine. "Hold on! It's gonna get bumpy!" 

The bike jounced its way up the stairs. The wolf reached the top first and seized a trash can. He hurled it down the steps at them. Pushing her Slayer-endowed skills to the limit. Buffy popped the bike into a wheelie, and when the can bounced in front of them, used it to leap to the top of the stairs on the bike. Melissa clung to Buffy through the leap. "Ohmygod! Where's ET when you _really_ need him!" 

The bike hit the floor and bounced once, but Buffy swiftly regained command and spun it to face the enemy. 

"Oo-ee-oo-ee-oo-oh, wah-wah-wah" came the theme from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly over the mall speakers. 

"Nice choice, Andru," said Melissa "Lemme guess, Buffy's the good, and I'm the bad, 'cause that sucker over there is _definitely_ the ugly." 

"Not touchin' that one!" said Andru. 

"Grrr-erp!" the thing broke off in mid-growl, it's attention caught by something to its side. 

Melissa and Buffy looked that way too. "Oh, that is _so_ tacky!" said Buffy. 

Standing near a Christian bookstore was a giant effigy of the crucified Christ. A Roman soldier had stuck a spear in His side and was mechanically pulling it in and out. As he did, Christ's eyes lit up and flashing words on his chest read "Give to the Televangelists' Criminal Defense Fund!" The words blinked on and off with each pull of the spear. 

"I'm not normally repelled by crosses," said Melissa. "But, damn…" 

The werewolf shook off his reverie and charged. Buffy gunned the cycle. They passed each other, Melissa's pistol missing and the wolf's claw scratching paint. Melissa pulled out the shotgun as Buffy circled the bike. Melissa reloaded as the thing unleashed another blast of balefire. It missed them, but smashed into the effigy. The head fell off and hit the floor with a crunching noise. A worker inside the bookstore ran out. "Oh my Gawd!!" she shrieked. "Those hooligans and their dawg just decapitated our Lord 'n Savior!!" 

The wolf charged again. This time Melissa was ready. She discharged the gun at near point-blank range. A blast of white-hot fire exploded from the barrels and seared into the beast's body. It was thrown back, its fur aflame. 

"Dragonbreath rounds," smirked Melissa. 

It attacked again, howling with rage and smashed into the motorcycle. Melissa and her guns went flying and Buffy rolled into a crouch. The fire was dying down on the thing but it still looked wounded. It had assumed Crinos form again, the bookstore people fainting at the sight of it. 

The wolf grabbed the motorcycle and advanced toward Melissa, preparing to crush her with it. Near Buffy was Melissa's pistol. She grabbed it and fired. It hit, but the wound began healing instantly. Growling, the demon-wolf turned. It raised the bike above its head preparing to squash the Slayer with it. "Buffy! Get down!" Buffy hit the ground as the Jesus head bounced over her, apparently controlled by Melissa, who held her hand outstretched. The head smashed into werewolf, knocking against the railing. He still gripped the bike and was attempting to rebalance when Buffy fired. 

She shot through the rest of the clip. Several bullets wizzed by the wolf, a couple hit him and one hit the gas tank. Ka-phoom! The tank exploded and the head, its paper-mache form covering the wolf went up as well. Buffy and Melissa covered their heads but the debris passed them by. The wolf gave forth a last despairing howl and fell over the rail. 

Buffy and Melissa looked over the edge. The wolf had landed on a display announcing that Jessica Paine, of "All My Restless Children" fame would be signing copies of her book, Having It All My Way, tomorrow.

Apparently, the actress had been watching the setup as a short, breathlessly venomous woman was screeching at a man nearby. 

"_How_ could this *_happen?_ This was supposed to perfect!" she shrieked. "Now there's, -there's burning dog all over my books! This whole signing tomorrow is ruined, do you hear me, _ruined_!" 

The wolf had burned down to a blackened skeleton which seemed to decompose by magic. 

Buffy turned and looked at the destroyed Jesus and the stand. "Well, at least nothing of value was damaged," she noted.

Down below, Jessica Paine shook a tiny fist at the sky. "This is your fault Sarah! Somehow you did this to me!!!" 

"Whoa, whoa, Jess. It's not the show. Live in the now. Breathe in the now." said a soothing, theraputic voice. 

"Oh shut the hell up you quack! You're all fired! I _am_ Jessica Paine and I _will _survive!" 

"Yeah," said Melissa. "Butcha _still_ won't get that Emmy!" 

"Who said that! Come back here!" she squealed. 

"I don't know about you," said Buffy with a shudder. "But I'd rather face the wolf than work with her!" 

"No kidding." They left the store by a differing exit. Police cars were pulling into the lot. 

"Now what?" asked Buffy. 

"Now," said Melissa. "We get dirty."


	6. Chapter 6

They walked toward a Hertz dealership. As they walked Buffy complained. "Oh damn. I feel sick," 

She shivered in the warm April night. 

Melissa looked at her sympathetically, "That's the blood wearing off. Another bad thing about ghouldom: the lows're as bad as the highs are good. Say hello to the human race again." 

"Is there- Oh god!" said Buffy, remembering something. 

"What, What's wrong?" Melissa asked. 

"The Wizards. Some of them were unconscious when the place blew. I let them die! It's all my   
fault!" Buffy lip was trembling. 

"Goodbye and good riddance to them. But I don't think the city could get that lucky. You still   
there, Andru?" Melissa asked. 

"Ready, willing and able, oh babe from beyond the grave," said the voice on the phone. 

Melissa shook her head. "Can you access MPD's files and see what they've got on that tattoo   
place?" 

"Does a bear crap in the woods?" came the snorted reply. 

"I don't know," said Melissa. "I'm a city girl. I _avoid_ the woods." 

"Doing a download, lucky thing the cops do that on-site dictation stuff or I couldn't swipe this 'til at   
least tomorrow." 

"I'm sure the police are happy to make data theft easy for you Andru," commented Buffy in a dry   
tone of voice. Dry but with a note of uneasy anticipation. 

"They oughta be, they sure do it enough," came the cocksure reply. 

In a couple of minutes, data flood the cell phone/computer's view screen. Swiftly it slowed to human   
speed. 

"Okay," narrated Andru unnecessarily. "Apparently, the cops just finished their tour of Stan's Tattoo   
and Bar-B-Q. That last a recent addition. Officers entered found yada-yada-blah-blah. Here we go.   
Four bodies inside, all with signs of acute physical trauma. Three in the front, one on a hook in the   
back. Oh yeah, and two witnesses/suspects apprehended hauling ass about two blocks from the   
scene. Both with severe bruising, contusions and otherwise lookin' beat all to hell." 

Andru continued as the data scrolled on. "According to these boys, their hangout was attack by at   
least ten, no _twenty_ members of the Knights of Death, arch rivals of the Wizard's. They beat 'em   
back but the place got set on fire, so they had to retreat. Cop asks 'What about the bodies, genius?'   
Answer 'Uh-uh-uh,' Interrogation to continue downtown. Th-th-th-th-that's all folks." 

"So they're alive?" Buffy asked. 

"Yep," came Andru's voice. "They're able to breathe free air, at least 'til they get sent up for murder,   
rape, armed robbery and other nastiness. Which shouldn't be long since they've got outstanding   
warrants. Nope, these boys have been saved to be bitches fer big sweaty guys named Bubba. At   
least 'til they screw up and get knifed in the shower." 

"Color you cheerful." said Buffy. 

"Color me realistic," said Andru. "In Virtual Adept terms, these guys are a virus with shoes, shoes   
they probably shot somebody for. They need to be flushed outta the operating system of humanity   
so more deserving folks can use the oxygen." 

"You guys get anything except shot at down there?" he asked, changing the subject. 

"Naw," said Melissa. "We're gonna try the Nosfers next." 

"Oooo, down and dirty, Mel. I _like_ it." 

Buffy shot Melissa a puzzled look. 

"What about the others?" asked Melissa. 

"Rebecca got the Widers calmed down. Scratches led a few of 'em to a large concentration of   
Sabbat. I think the Sabbies had wasted the Prince and a couple of Primogen and that point. You   
can mark off a bunch of Sabbat though. Those are some fleas that got the _hell_ scratched out've   
'em. 'Bec said Dev wanted 'em to check a couple other things out, then boogie back upstairs." 

"Cool," said Melissa, sounding satisfied. 

"Looks like things are starting to calm down a bit" said Andru. "Blackthorne's still real concerned   
about the kid, though." 

Melissa sighed. "We're working on it." 

"He knows. He just says 'Work faster.' You know how he is," said Andru. "Good luck, we're all   
gonna need it. Out." 

"Okay," said Buffy "Who are the 'Nosfers' and who's this Blackthorne guy? For that matter, who   
exactly _are_ you guys?" 

They walked as they talked. "We're," Melissa paused. "We're the good guys." 

"That's a _little_ vague, y'know." said Buffy. 

"Alright. We're a secret task force dedicated to busting up all those self-serving conspiracies and   
power games that turn this world into the shitpit it is today. When the Sabbat moves on a town, we   
try to minimize the number of humans that get killed. When the Camarilla decided some poor   
bastard human has to die to preserve the Masquerade, we try to get 'em to safety or call off the hunt.   
When Pentex wants to turn a national park into a toxic waste dump, we shut 'em down, or   
try to. We're sort of like the supernatural version of the A-Team, except we've got more guns. We   
help people who can't help themselves but still want to." 

She continued. "Blackthorne's a higher-up in the organization. He was the one who brought me in   
and kept me from walking into the sun. Him and Andru. He's..." Melissa paused, trying to find the   
words. "Take Han Solo and Wolverine and the Outlaw Josey Wales, especially the last one, and   
that's him, sort of. He's one of the really good guys, and I've seen damn few of them in my time." 

"How old are you, anyway?" asked Buffy. 

"I'm seventeen years old, last month," she said. 

Buffy just stopped and stared at her. 

"No lie," said Melissa. "What, you thought every vamp was around to see Christ. Get real. I got   
'sucked in' about four years ago. I was gonna suck some guy off for twenty bucks and I got sucked   
instead," her voice was cool, brittle as she said it. 

"I'm-I'm sorry." said Buffy, not clear on how to deal with this. 

"I'm not. Oh yeah, I freaked out at first, thought I was some inhuman thing outta Hell, like Fright   
Night or some shit. Blackthorne set me straight, showed me the ropes, treated me like a human   
fucking being. That was the first time that happened. I figured out I was a human being after I got   
vamped. Go figure. 

"Anyway, it beats the hell out of suckin' stranger's cocks and riskin AIDs and shit. And it _sure_   
beats 'bedtime' with my step dad. Truth is, I'd be dead for real if I hadn't been vamped. An' it's not   
like I saw the sun that much anyway. Hooking's pretty much a nighttime thing." 

"But what about-" started Buffy. 

"The cops, got raped in jail, no thanks. The social workers, kids go to orphan houses and come   
back broken or not at all. Adoption, oh yeah. 'Hi there, I'm Melissa Wu. I'm a thirteen year old   
Chinese-American crackwhore. Can I be your daughter?' _That'd_ work well. Sorry Buffster, this   
world got a lotta cracks if you got no money or power. Those cracks are wide and _real_ fuckin'   
easy to fall into." 

Buffy reached out to her. "Melissa, I'm so sorry, I didn't-" 

Melissa turned on her, eyes flashing. "Don't you _dare_' pity me! I don't need it! I'm a goddamn   
vampire. I'm gonna live on and be seein' wonders and doing wonders when you're dust in the   
fuckin' ground. I got a family now. I got the power to help fix a lot of the shit that's wrong in the   
world. To make sure other kids don't have to go through the same hell I did. So don't you pity me! I've got my shit together." 

Buffy stepped back from the onslaught of her words. "Whoa, guess I touched a nerve." 

Melissa grimaced. "I don't usually talk about this stuff a lot. Guess I'm still dealing. Anyway, the   
Nosfers is short for Nosferatu, as in _clan_ Nosferatu. They're as good at hiding as the Malkavians   
except they're not nuts. Plus they're real strong and they control animal, mostly rats that live in the   
sewers." 

"Sewers? Please say you _didn't_ say sewers. I just got a new shirt!" protested Buffy. 

"Don't worry, it'll wash off. Probably," said Melissa. "Oh yeah, their clan weakness, they're all ugly as sin." 

"Say what?!" asked Buffy. 

"Yep. Oozing sores, twisted faces, nasty warts, the works. Actually, they're pretty cool. They don't   
pretend to be better than everybody and they don't take or give any shit. Except what's in the   
sewers," said Melissa. 

"And we're seeing these folks because..." asked Buffy. 

"Because they control rats which go everywhere and they can turn invisible and unnoticed and go   
everywhere. If anybody's got the info on the wolf-boy, it's these guys. It's actually worked out that   
we wasted that Dancer. The Nosfers _hate_ those suckers." 

"Well, why didn't we just go to these guys before?" asked Buffy. 

"'Cause we got a little sidetracked, remember. Anyway, info costs. And I don't know how much it'll   
be. And the price isn't gonna be money, either. The Nosfers don't like pretty types all that much.   
Probably 'cause the pretty vamps usually think they're lower than rat shit 'cause've how they look.   
Here we are." 

They were in front of the rent-a-car place. Melissa said, "Here's an ID. Go rent us a car. I can't   
pass for eighteen, you can." 

Buffy nodded and went inside. 

Andru's voice came over the link to Melissa's and only Melissa's com unit. "She buy it about the   
Wizard's?" 

"I think so. They died, huh?" 

"Deader'n dogshit. How come the playacting, and when do I get my Oscar?" asked Andru. 

"Buffy's alright, but she hasn't figured out that she can't save everybody. And you'll get your Oscar   
when you hit the 'fridge, filed under Meyer for bologna." 

"Ouch! You still got it, babe. Out." 

"Damn right." 

Buffy returned holding keys. "Congratulations, we are now the proud renters of a Yugo." 

"Shit." said Melissa. 

"Got that right." said Buffy. 

They went to the car. "Oh, man, piss green, too." said Melissa. "I wouldn't be caught _dead_ in a   
car like this." 

"Ummm..." said Buffy. 

"No comments from the gallery." said Melissa, "Hope you got your high water boots, 'cause   
we're gonna be doin' the wade." 

"Color me enthused." groaned Buffy. They drove into the night. 

* * *

"Hmmm, Arts and Entertainment," said Melissa as Buffy's electronic icon stopped on the designated   
spot. 

"I'm _usually_ pretty good at those." said Buffy, a wary tone in her voice. 

"Okay, who was the evil blond woman who ruined the band, Van Halen?" asked Melissa. 

"Ummm, Heather Locklear?" guessed Buffy. 

"Nope, David Lee Roth," corrected Melissa. 

"But he's a guy!" protested Buffy. "Even _with_ that hair!" 

Melissa shrugged. "That's why it's called 'Twisted Trivial Pursuit'." 

"This game stinks," said Buffy, scowling. "I've only gotten one question right and that one was about   
Pee Wee Herman. Eeww!" she shuddered, remembering. 

"It's not like I did all that great either. I just know how Andru's sick mind _works_. Plus, you gotta   
admit to liking the one question about apocalyptic prophecies and the coming of the Spice Girls,"   
said Melissa. 

"Yeah," Buffy acknowledged. 

"Besides, it's either this or 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon', ya know." 

"Ugh!" said Buffy. "I mean, he's cute, but ugh! I still think we should watch the sewer entrance." 

"Let me go over it one more time," said Melissa, with a sigh. "Obfuscate isn't invisibility. It works by   
sending out this little mental 'I'm not here' signal. If you pay attention to the sewer, you'll be more   
likely to get hit by that signal. Possibly hard enough to ignore the UV laser alarms and the satellite   
imaging. We'll just sit in the car like a couple of idiots and ignore the alarm and everything." 

"Nope, the best way to pay close attention and see the Nosfers is to goof off. Besides, this is the   
sewer grate that's the most out of the way _and_ the most interconnected. If a Nosfer's gonna   
show, this'll be the place." 

"All right," agreed Buffy, sullenly. She stared out the side window at a nearby supermarket. 

Melissa let the silence hang for a minute, then "Out with it." 

Buffy turned back to her. "Out with what?" she asked. 

"With whatever small animal crawled up your ass and died," said Melissa. 

"What!" said Buffy, flushing slightly. 

"You got some kinda problem stuck in your throat. You wanna talk about it, but you're scared,   
too," said Melissa, a half-smile on her face. "Whatever it is, let's get it out. It's bugging you. And out   
here on the sharp end of things, you can't afford to get distracted by stuff or you get dead and you get   
somebody else, like me," she said pointing at herself "dead as well. Well, deader as well, anyway." 

"How would you know if something's bugging me or not?" said Buffy. "Are you reading my mind?!" 

Anger and suspicion tinged her voice. 

"If it came down to it, I could," said Melissa. "But I'm not reading your mind, I'm reading your   
mood. Look, I hit the streets for good when I was ten fucking years old. If you live, you learn to   
read people. You learn to spot the junkies and the rapists and the psychos. You learn to spot the   
ones who'll just pay the twenty bucks for a blow job and the ones who'll rob ya or kill ya. And   
when you make friends or stay around people you learn to spot the slightest changes in 'em. I've   
seen the 'I've got some scary shit I wanna talk about, but don't know how' look on a whole lot more   
faces than yours, Buffy." 

"Why would you even care?" asked Buffy. 

Melissa looked away a second, then turned back. "Truth? 'cause you remind me a little of me,   
maybe how things mighta been if stuff'd been different. If my life hadn't had so much shit in it. If..."   
she paused and shrugged. "If." 

Melissa continued. "Back in the parking, I told you some pretty personal stuff. I did it 'cause I   
_knew_ I could pretty much trust you. I didn't have to read your mind. One thing I _can_ do is see auras and stuff,   
so I can pretty well figure out what kinda person I'm dealing with and whether I could trust 'em. If   
didn't think I could trust you, I sure as hell wouldn't've told you about what I did. Hell, if I didn't   
trust you, I'd'a left you for vampbait back in the alley when we got here." 

"Fine, you say you trust me-" started Buffy, still not sure. 

"So 'how do I know I can trust you?' Glad you thought've that, gives me hope you won't get wasted   
'cause you got suckered. I could say 'cause I saved your ass, but that's sorta crap, anybody might   
save a tool while it's useful. Okay, you're a Slayer, right?" Melissa asked. 

"Yeah," said Buffy, not quite sure where this was leading. 

"So you can detect, vamps and sorta tell whether there gonna attack you, or otherwise mess you up,   
right?" 

"Well, sort of." said Buffy 

"Then take a second and tune in to me. And think real hard and ask yourself, 'can you trust   
me?'" said Melissa, facing her and deliberately turning her dominating gaze slightly away from Buffy. 

Buffy looked at her for a long moment and slowly nodded. 

Melissa spoke into the com-unit. "Yo 'dru." 

"Present and accounted for." came his voice. "Whacha need?" 

"Listen," said Melissa. "I'm gonna shut down the auto-link down here for a while, me and Buffy got   
some stuff to hash out." 

"Anything I can help you lovely ladies with?" he asked, a hopeful note in his voice. 

"Naw, just girltalk. _Lifetime channel_ girltalk." emphasized Melissa. 

"Ah, Things That Man Was Not Meant To Know." You could hear the capitals in his voice. "Not a   
prob, won't call you, you call me." The signal line went silent. 

Melissa turned to Buffy. "Figured you be a little more comfy without 'Nosy Brother' listening in.   
Andru's cool and I really like him, but he can be one heck of a control freak. 'Course he's not real   
great with personal girl stuff. If he ever gets vamped, we won't need a cross. We'll just hold out a   
tampon and he'll haul ass into daylight." 

Buffy chuckled at the image. "In the name of Playtex, begone foul fiend!" she said. 

"Just about." said Melissa, then sobered. "Okay, fire when ready." 

Buffy took a deep breath. "It's-It's just I can't really talk about a lot of this stuff with the others. I   
mean, Giles, he's like my dad. I mean, he's my Watcher and he trains me but..." she paused. "But if   
he had his way I'd drop outta school and drop outta life and just be 'The Slayer'. You know running   
around, slaying vamps, saving people." She looked up at Melissa. "Sorry about the whole killing   
vamps things, I mean." 

Melissa shrugged. "Not a problem here. From what you told me, they're pretty much pure evil.   
Screw 'em. Take a flame-thrower to 'em for all I care." 

"And there's Angel, Angelus, I don't know." she swallowed. "He was so wonderful, I didn't even   
_know_ he was a vamp until later. I thought he was just this beautiful guy that was just for me. Giles   
didn't like him. Mostly 'cause any dates and stuff meant no slaying. And I found out he was a   
vampire and I thought he'd hurt my mom and I was gonna kill him. But it wasn't him. It was   
_another_ vampire and she died. And it was even better, somehow. 

"I mean, Angel was like two hundred years old and he loved _me_! And since I got to Sunnydale   
and started slaying, it's like I'm AIDSgirl or something. One of my old boyfriends from L. A. came   
back and was gonna sell me out to Spike, the main vamp 'cause he had a brain tumor and wanted to   
be a vampire. I'm babbling. I hate it when I babble." said Buffy. 

"Hell with it. I'm still listening," said Melissa. "Babble on, Buffy." 

"It's just...I mean he's saved my life and I loved him and now he's gone and there's this _thing_ that   
knows everything he knew about me and he killed Jenny and it's all my fault and he was my   
first...only, I don' wanna cry again and-" And the tears came anyway pouring from Buffy's eyes like   
the torrent of a burst dam. 

Melissa just reached out and pulled the sobbing Slayer to her, concentrating and forcing blood to   
just below skin surface to push her body temperature to human warmth. She could feel the rush of   
blood just below the surface of Buffy's skin, rushing like a river through the veins and arteries, calling   
to her. Her fangs ached at the roots. 

With her effort of will born of practice, Melissa slammed the gates shut on her hunger, forcing it   
down out of her mind. And then Melissa felt another pain, this one in her heart. With surprise she   
recognized it as compassion. Compassion for her friend. Friend? This girl from whitebread   
Suburbia, her friend? 'Guess so.' Melissa thought, stroking Buffy's hair. The sobbing was dying   
down to sniffles now. Melissa thought about Angel. 'You did this to her, you piece of shit.' she   
thought, a cold anger in her. 'And when this is over and I get a chance to come visit Sunnydale, I'm   
gonna kill your ass. And it's gonna be long and slow and it's gonna _hurt._

* * *

A car with its windows down drove into the parking lot of the supermarket. Sammy Hagar's song,   
"Both Sides Now" could be heard playing from its radio. 

With a shuddering breath, Buffy sat up. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. 

"Thanks," she said. "Sorry, I kinda lost it there." 

Melissa shrugged. "It's okay, at least you got it out." 

Lyrics: _Well, we gotta learn how to listen, before we learn to talk;_

"Yeah, I guess so." said Buffy. 

"And thank you too." said Melissa. 

Lyrics: _Ya gotta learn to crawl, before ya learn to walk._

"For what?" asked Buffy. "Messing up your shirt?" 

"For trusting me enough to get that close, most people don't." 

Lyrics: _And if you want a little peace, well, sometimes ya gotta fight;_

"I didn't think about it. I mean, you're not like the other vampires I know about. You're...human, at   
least in the inside, where it counts." said Buffy. 

Lyrics: _You gotta walk through the darkness, uh-huh, before you stand in the light, oh yeah!_

A shiny bead welled up in Melissa's eye. She brushed it away, leaving a smear of red across her   
black mask of make-up. "Shit. Now I'm gonna start, too." 

Buffy smiled, "I won't tell if you won't." 

"Deal," They shook hands and laughed. 

Lyrics: _I know it won't be long...I've seen both sides now...Both sides now._

As the lyrics faded out, Melissa turned to Buffy. "I think I can help you with some stuff. You're not   
pregnant. You haven't picked up any diseases. And you're not gonna turn into a vampire, at least   
not from what you said happened." 

"Before he lost his soul, Angel said he couldn't have kids. But I was still kinda scared. What'd you   
mean about diseases, though and how'd you know the other stuff." 

"Well, I dunno about your guys vampires, but ours can pass diseases. At least diseases in the blood, anyway," Melissa explained 

"Like AIDS?" Buffy asked, wrinkling her nose at the thought. "You mean, you get catch _AIDS_ from getting bit by a vampire here? God, I guess that's another reason I'm glad the Master was stuck in the Hellmouth for all that time. But you said I'm clean or something, right? So, how'd you know?" 

Melissa shrugged. "I know blood-magic. Like when I boiled the guy who stabbed you. I got some   
of your blood on my hand when I fed you mine. I tasted it to see if the Setite had any poison or shit   
on the knife and you came out clean. And when I did the taste-test, none of the telltales for the other   
stuff showed up. All I got was that you had a pretty nasty virus within the last week or so, but you   
were okay." 

"Whew. I guess the tongue can tell," said Buffy, then sighed. "It's still my fault about Angel, though." 

"Tell me what happened from the beginning and we'll see," suggested Melissa. 

Taking a deep breath, Buffy described what happened, going into detail she's skipped over on the   
station. She told about Angel, and the curse and the beautiful dream night in Angel's bed that led to   
such a nightmare, and Jenny's death and all of it. "See," she said. "It's my fault. I didn't think and this   
what happened." 

"Bullshit. Who made you God?" said Melissa, scowling. "Because guess what, the only way you   
coulda known was if you were all-knowin' and you're not. I mean, come on! Check   
the dangers of sleeping with a guy. Pregnancy, AIDS, slutty rep. I don't see 'guy losing his fucking   
soul to a gypsy curse and then killing people' as one of the top fuckin ten problems with sex,   
y'know?" 

"Look," continued Melissa, "here in the Rat Pack, we got a saying from Blackthorne: If you don't   
have the power to know something or do something, you don't have the responsibility either.   
Rebecca's also got this version of the Serenity Prayer on her wall, 'cause she's another one that   
takes this shit to heart too much. I'm the one who got it for her. It goes like this: 

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,   
The courage to change things I can,   
The wisdom to know the difference,   
And the good luck not to screw up too often." 

Buffy gave a rueful smile. "I'm guessing _you_ thought of that last part." 

Melissa shook her head. "Nope. Steven King. In 'Salem's Lot. Which was a pretty kick-ass vamp   
novel, by-the-way." 

Beep-bee-beep. The proximity alarm went off. "Showtime! That Nosfer's bookin'. Uh-oh." One dot   
was leading three other dots in hot pursuit. They were heading for the supermarket. 

"Start the car and get ready. I'll bet the Nosfer pissed off somebody by spyin' on 'em and gettin'   
caught." said Melissa. 

Buffy started the car as one and then three more figures burst into sight. The one was hunched over   
and moving quickly despite a lurching gait. The three chasing him looked normal except for their   
biker clothes. One near the back carried a shotgun, which he discharged noiselessly at the fleeing   
figure. He missed. 

"Buckle up and hang on," said Buffy. "I think this is gonna get intense." 

She gunned the engine and tires squealed as the Yugo. "Oh, yeah." The smaller figure darted through   
the doors of the market. The Yugo sped toward the others. "Damn! At least one of 'em Black   
Hand. They're total fanatics who don't care whether they live or die as long as they kill their prey for   
the Sabbat. We gotta hurry." 

"I am _so_ not happy with this whole Sabbat things. Why can't these vampires just hang out in   
Translyvania or something?" asked Buffy, mock annoyance in her voice. "And if they leave, why   
don't they just go bother Winona Ryder and leave the rest've us alone." 

Melissa smiled. "You're getting into this a little. Cool!" 

Buffy blushed a bit and drove. Two of the vamps ran inside. The one with the shotgun stood at the   
front of store, aiming at the car. Ka-boom! The slug shattered the windshield as the girls ducked   
behind the dash. Buffy pressed the accelerator to the floor. She steered right for the guy. "You are   
nuts!" yelled Melissa. "I _like_ that in a person!" 

The shotgunner saw the car approaching and leapt onto the glass doors. He stuck there like a giant   
bug and aimed the shotgun. "I guess he's the _un-_friendly neighborhood Spider-man." said Buffy. 

"Then let's squash his ass." said Melissa. 

"He's up too high." said Buffy. 

"No, keep going!" Melissa called, her face squeezed into a mask of effort. 

"I gotta turn off now!" said Buffy. "We're gonna miss him and ohmygod!" 

A ramp suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of the car. The car sped up it and sailed into the   
air at the window and the vampire. The vamps's jaw dropped in astonishment. He tried to drop, but   
too late. 

The car smashed into the window and the vamp, catching him in mid-chest. The momentum of the   
leap carried them through into store. Customer screamed and fled. The car, along with its grotesque   
hood ornament exploded through a display of fruit juices and smashed into the front of a register.   
The vampire's head was pinched from his shoulders and squirted toward the ceiling like a spat   
watermelon seed. The impact jolted Buffy and Melissa forward but the safety belts held. 

They sat in the car for a second, recovering. "So much for the damage deposit on the car," said   
Buffy. 

"Looks like," Melissa replied. 

"Umm, w-we have a cleanup on the f-front end," a quavering voice sounded over the intercom. 

"Uh-oh." said Buffy, as one of the vamps showed from a nearby aisle. He leveled a submachine gun   
at them. They dove out the doors as he triggered it, spraying the car and prompting screams from   
the customers and workers that hadn't fled. The vampire fired at Buffy. With an acrobatic flip, she   
rolled over the roof and dropped beside Melissa. Her feet slipped on the mixed juice and she hit the   
floor. "Ugh!" said Buffy. "I always hated pineapple, orange grape combos." 

Another round of bullets hit the car. Buffy pulled out a stake. "What are you doing?" asked Melissa 

"I'm gonna nail him before he nails us," she said. 

"With that?" asked Melissa, pointing at the stake. "What the hell are you gonna do, get medieval on   
his ass?" 

"Oh please," said Buffy, rolling her eyes. "Pulp Fiction was _so_ ten minutes ago." 

With the easy grace of a Slayer she rolled out. "Goddammit!" cursed Melissa, firing several rounds   
under the car to cover her. 

The submachine gun squirted a line of bullets near Buffy that punched into a drink machine, causing   
it open and drop its load of colas, sending them rolling across the floor. Buffy rolled to a crouch and   
sent the stake flying. It slammed into the vampire's chest and he dropped paralyzed to the ground. 

Buffy smiled, "Of course, "From Dusk 'til Dawn" is still very now." 

"Maybe," said Melissa. "But we've still gotta work on that whole low profile shit." 

One last cashier was left. "W-Who are you girls, anyway?" he looked at the staked vampire, his   
eyes wide and staring. 

"We're the McGruff Kid's Neighborhood Watch." said Melissa. She flashed her fangs at him. "You   
know, take a bite out of crime." She looked into his eyes. "Now get outta here and forget   
you ever saw this." 

"G-Gladly!" he fled through the shattered window. 

"Take a bite out of crime?" said Buffy, rolling her eyes. 

"Fine. Next time I'll waste the bad guy and you can do the quip. One left, and the Nosfer. Let's   
go." 

"What about..." Buffy pointed at the vamp. 

"He'll keep," she said. "You check the right I'll go left, we'll meet at the meats." 

Buffy nodded and started out. Melissa waited until she was gone and turned to the vamp. "All this   
running around is thirsty work. Too bad for you," Melissa dragged him behind the car out of sight   
and sank her fangs into his throat. Instantly the blood poured into her, filling her up as no human vitae could. 

Then the blood was gone and she tasted of his essence. She sensed the agony and ecstasy of his   
very soul even as she consumed it. And then, in a final star burst of pleasure and power, she   
absorbed his essence completely and felt the power of her blood become increased. 

A gun cocked behind her. "Not very smart, pleasure before business." 

***** 

Buffy moved silently through the store, through a pair of double-doors ahead she sensed something.   
She crept ahead and looked inside. She saw nothing. She stepped back and crept forward again,   
this time just using the corner of her eyes to look, a small shape was curled into a corner. She   
stepped inside and looked there. 

"Don't worry I'm not going to hurt y-" she choked off the last word as the figure draw into the light. 

It was a child, or had been. Perhaps six or seven. It's skin was a slate-gray in appearance. It's ears   
were that of a horse or mule and covered with sores. It's one eye was pushed to the center of a   
bald, malformed forehead and wept a yellow, sticky-looking fluid. Instead of a nose there was a   
pair of slits. To better showcase the decay, the mouth was untouched, a beautiful slim pair of lips   
such as any child might have. The boy, she thought it was a boy used his webbed, four-fingered   
hands to push himself to his feet. His eye tracked her warily. 

"Umm. It's okay. I'm Buffy. I'm here to help you." 

A forked tongue slid from his lips as he hissed. "You're a ssstranger. I'm not sssupossed to talk to   
ssstrangers." 

"What's your name?" Buffy asked. 

"I'm Cccyke. Like the Xss-Man." 

"Well, Cyke, I'm Buffy." she said extending a hand for him to shake. He took it. His hand was cold   
and dry. 

"Now we're not strangers." said Buffy. Gravely, Cyke nodded. 

"There'sss other ssstrangerss. They're ffrom the King. They're bad." he said, in that lisping, serious   
tone. 

"Well, we're bad too, in a good, X-Men kinda way." said Buffy. "C'mon, let's go." 

***** 

"You know, this won't work," said Melissa. Her captor, stood behind her with a shotgun aimed at   
her head. 

"And why not? She's your ghoul, isn't she? She'll do as you order." 

A security mirror turned very slightly, it showed the two of them to Melissa's sight. 

"Because, you let me live too long, dumbass," With that Melissa reached out with her   
mind and shoved the shotgun to the side. Both barrels discharged a blast of phosphorous into the   
air. She whirled to face him. 

"Cute trick. Fine," he said, reaching into a stuffed pocket and slamming two more shells home. "I'll just kill you and the boy. The girl while make a tasty snack." 

"Pop quiz, dumbass. What do you get when you mix Dragonbreath rounds with fire?" Melissa   
summoned mystic flame to the palm of her hand. "Answer: Mayhem!" She tossed the fire at the   
pocket with the rounds in it and dove behind the counter. Foosh! Blam! Blam! The rounds went off,   
setting the vampire on fire. He panicked and started running, as though he could outrace the fire   
consuming his flesh. With a final series of backfires, he fell to the floor and was consumed. 

"Guess nobody told him about that whole 'Stop! Drop! and Roll! thing, huh?" came Buffy's voice. 

"Guess not," said Melissa, "Who's your buddy?" 

"I'm Cccyke." he hissed. 

"Cool, I'm Melissa. The three of us got some things talk about, 'kay?" 

The boy nodded. 

The three walked outside, leaving the carnage behind them.   
  



	7. Chapter 7

The three walked across the parking lot to a nearby alley

The three walked across the parking lot to a nearby alley. A helicopter flew overhead, its rotors fading into the midnight sky. 

They entered the alley and Melissa turned to Cyke. "Okay, bud, talk. why were those guys after you?" 

"I found ssomething, ssomething hidden," said Cyke. 

"What was it?" asked Buffy. 

"It'sss hard to remember, don't know where to sstart. Get fuzzy," said Cyke, squinting his one eye in concentration. 

"Why don't you just start with the beginning and go from there?" suggested Buffy. 

Cyke nodded, although Melissa looked impatient. "I wasss... 

*****

Cyke looked around himself. The sewer tunnels were lightless, except for weak bulbs at infrequent intervals. But Cyke, despite his mental age, had living in the tunnels for a long time, he knew them as well as he knew himself. 

He looked in the small piles of rubble and trash that occasionally floated past in the filthy water.

Sometimes these bits of flotsom yielded unexpected treasures. Once he'd even found a watch in a Taco Bell carton that had the X-men on it in place of numbers and it had even still running. It was broken now, but it had run for some time anyway. Cyke wanted another watch. 

*****

"Fine, after this is finished we'll getcha another watch," said Melissa, frowning in impatience. 

"Melissa, you're not helping, let him finish," said Buffy. 

*****

Cyke moved on, he was also a little hungry, but this part of the sewers didn't seem to have any rats. The construction looked old as well. A hole with a faint trickle of sewage flowing from it opened into the wall. From the hole came sounds, like voices. 

Curious, Cyke climbed up into the hole and followed the voices. Even most of the Nosferatu couldn't have negotiated the narrow tunnel, but Cyke was small and wiry and had had a lot of practice in getting into small places. The voices got louder and the tunnel branched off. Cyke followed the voices until he reached a grating. It was loose, so he silently pushed it up and found himself inside a storeroom that was covered in dust and rotted carpeting. The voices came from one of the walls. 

Cyke walked over to the wall and slid aside a loose bit of plaster, revealing a peephole that was just

his height. He looked inside and a person inside. He wore leather and was pale, Cyke could sense

he was a vampire. The other person was out of sight but he talked funny. The two were arguing. 

*****

"What'd they argue about?" asked Melissa. "And how was the guy's voice funny?" 

Cyke shrugged. "Jusst funny, not like other voiccess." 

"Anyway," said Buffy, prompting the little vampire to continue. 

*****

Cyke listened to the two men arguing and took a picture of it in his head, like he'd been taught. The

others in the clan had told him how important it was to 'member exactly what was said, even if it didn't make a lot of sense. Of course most of the things the big folks said didn't make a lot of sense to Cyke. 

"...sure it's safe?" asked the man with the funny voice. 

"This place ain't even on the map. Hell, I don't even think the fuckin' Nosferatu know about it. The

knife's as safe as its going to get without puttin' it in Fort Knox and not even then." 

"The Dagger of Ashikara is the key to everything, you bloody fool, everything. Only with it and the girl with the blood of power can we stop the madness. The girl, the Slayer, is here. The dagger is here and the time is nigh, if this gets screwed up, the consequences will be unimaginable, do you get it?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I *got* it. No screwups. No problem." 

"You'd by God _better_ have got it!" 

Cyke heard the man with the funny voice leave. They'd been talking about a knife or something. Ratbreath had lost his lucky Swiss-Army knife. _Maybe this would be a replacement,_ thought Cyke. 

As the other man left Cyke pushed open a catch and entered. He willed himself not to be seen and walked into the place. There were other people here, he could hear them talking and moving around. Finally, he came to a door. Two vampires stood watch. Willing himself to become dim, Cyke just walked past them and opened the door. They never even noticed. 

He saw a knife with red and white shiny stones resting on a pillow in a glass box. He walked over to it and then lifted the box. Instantly the place filled with noise and screeching. 

Cyke grabbed the knife as the two vamps burst in. He hissed at them and charged. They tried to grab him, but his strength for his size was deceptive. He knocked one of them flying and ran into the hall. He could hear cursing and sounds of pursuit as he ran up some stairs. He saw three figures running toward him and ran into a room with an open door. He shut and locked the door. 

Shots slammed into the door and Cyke looked around. There was a window! He ran at the window as the door burst inward. He leapt through the window and sailed through the air. He grabbed onto a fire escape and climbed down to the street. The three figures still pursued him. He tried to not be seen, but they were chasing him too fast. He tripped and fell and the knife skidded into a pile of trash. They didn't notice. One of them fired a shotgun at him and missed. 

Cyke got up and ran and ran for several blocks until he got to the grocery store. 

*****

"Yes!" crowed Melissa. "All I've, _we've,_ gotta do is get the Dagger and we're home free!" 

"What? Why?" asked Buffy. 

"The Dagger's what's used for the sacrifice ceremony, okay?" said Melissa. "No Dagger, no ceremony, no problem." 

The helicopter was circling back. 

"What about that stuff about the Slayer, nobody said anything about that earlier," said Buffy. 

"Forget it. I'll tell ya later, right now we've gotta get that Dagger!" She concentrated and a watch appeared in her hands. She handed it to Cyke. 

"Cool!" he said. "It'ss even got me in the twelve ssspot!" 

"Wait a min-" started Buffy. 

A beam of brilliance like God's own flashlight suddenly enveloped them. The rotors of a police

helicopter beat the air as a megaphone called out. 

"Put your hands in the air and kneel to the

ground! This is the police! You are under arrest!" 

Melissa dove out of the spotlight and Buffy went in the opposite direction. A thunderous "Goddammit!" sounded over the megaphone. 

Melissa yelled to Buffy, "C'mon, we gotta go! We gotta lose these guys and get it!" 

Buffy made a snap decision and rushed away from Melissa. "You get it! I'll draw 'em off! We'll meet

where we first got here!" She ran on. 

Buffy heard Melissa yelling, "No, Goddammit! I need you _with-_ shit!" 

Shots came from the chopper but were cut off as a voice screamed "Cease fire!" 

Buffy ran on and the chopper pursued. She tried dodging into an alley. She raced along it and heard

policemen on foot pursuing her. She jumped at a fence that was blocking the alley and swiftly scaled

it, dropping to the other side. She ran behind some decaying buildings and into another alley. She

emerged to find several cops in front of it pointing pistols and shotguns at her. 

"Don't move." said one, "Don't even _breathe_!" 

*****

Buffy had grown rather tires of looking at the same four walls of the interrogation room. Her hands were cuffed in front of her and they'd left her some water. Oddly enough, nobody had even talked to her for the hour she'd been there. With a chill she recalled Melissa's words about the vampires controlling the police. 

She realized again her predicament. There was no one she could call. The cops had taken the com unit she'd been given. She thought about asking for a phone call, but then realized she had no idea who she could call. 

She heard music suddenly from outside the door. Someone was playing Don Henley's "Garden of Allah". Buffy could just make out the lyrics within the thrumming energy of the song. 

Lyrics: _It was a pretty good year for fashion, a lousy year for rock 'n roll. _

She could here conversation outside, but couldn't decipher the words. 

Lyrics:_ The people gave their blessing to crimes of passion, it was a dark, dark night of the collective soul._

The door opened and a cigarette haze entered the room. The song got louder, but the conversation remained indistinct. 

Lyrics: _And I was somewhere down on Riverside, by the El Royale Hotel, _

The conversation finished and someone stopped at the doorway. Buffy eyed the door warily. 

Lyrics: _When a stranger appeared in a cloud of smoke, I thought I knew him all too well. _

Striding through the cigarette haze, Rupert Giles entered the room. 


	8. Chapter 8

Giles was wearing an open trenchoat and a dress shirt and tie instead of his usual tweed

Giles was wearing an open trenchoat and a dress shirt and tie instead of his usual tweed. There was a disapproving scowl on his face as he studied Buffy. The silence was broken only by the song emanating from what appeared to be a boombox that Giles was carrying. In his other hand he held a leather briefcase. 

Lyrics: _He said "Now that I have your attention, I've somethin' I wanna say; you may not wanna hear it, I'm gonna tell it to ya anyway._

"Well, fancy meeting _you_ here," said Giles, in his best annoyed-with-the-Chosen-One voice. 

Buffy couldn't even speak. Her mind was racing with thoughts of how _Giles_ had managed to get here. Had he known about this place all along? 

Lyrics: _You know, I've always liked you boy, 'cause you were not afraid of me; but things're gonna get mighty rough, here in Gomorrah by the sea."_

He stopped the music. "Hard to imagine that such a harmless-looking, pretty little thing as yourself could be the focus of such an absolute bollocks." he said, his gaze frank and his tone oddly admiring. 

Buffy felt herself blushing a little at Giles' words. He'd never spoken to her like this before, and his manner was so...different. "G-Giles? How did you _get_ here? What's going on?!" 

Something dark and haunted seemed to flash through Giles' eyes at the mention of his name. "My name, girl, is Martin Deveraux. It is my sad task to deal with the problems that your arrival has precipitated. Quick question, though. How did you know my birth name? I've seen no trace of you before this night. And given your...method of operation, it should have proved simple to track your whereabouts by simply following the screams and explosions." 

"You're not Giles," said Buffy. "At least you're not _my_ Giles. You're from _this _world. Oh man, does that mean there's another me or Angel or Spike running around?" 

"Don't know about the last two. But I should think that you are unique and not represented here," Deveraux stated. "God help us if there's two of you roaming the cosmos." 

"Hey! Giles or no Giles, I don't need this!" said Buffy, her eyes flashing. 

"You know, you're rather cute when you're angry." Buffy pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Oh, don't mind me," said Deveraux. "I always get a little testy when my world is about to become even more of a Hell than it already is." 

"Deveraux. Wait a second, you're their boss. You sent us on the mission. Look, I think it's okay. Melissa and this Nosfer-something kid are going to get the Dagger, so the danger's off. We've still gotta find that wolf-cub though. And I've got a few questions for Melissa when I see her." 

He sighed. "Just what I was afraid of. Can you remember what she said, if anything, when you parted?" 

"She was kind of mad. She really wanted me to come with her. But I remembered a little of what she said about the police being under the vampires' control. I decided to draw them off and give her a chance to get away. If they got her in jail, she'd probably get exposed to sunlight, or she might kill her way out of jail." 

"Very noble. That's probably why she likes you," said Deveraux. 

"Okay, look. In short, simple words, what's going on?!" 

"Melissa and Andru are traitors to the organization. After several hundred years of research and searching, Melissa has found a gateway to the demon plane as well as a ritual of control of demons. She presented herself as a minor vampire and infilitrated our organization. She eventually corrupted Andru to her cause, most likely by promising to cure him and his sister. She then utilized her ties to the Sabbat to contact Pentex and convince them of the desirability of having a stable base of operations on a second world, yours. Again using her influence, she insinuated the ritual parameters into the construction plans, using Pentex as dupes to prepare the ground. 

"The Dagger is the key. By smearing it with blood from a potent denizen of your world and taking the life of someone of potence here, she will open the gate and bring the demons here. Once here, she'll use them as an unstoppable army to seize control of the world. Your world, alas, will be reduced to so much cosmic dust by the forces unleashed in the opening. I should expect that Andru, if he's unlucky enough to find her after his escape, will probably be the sacrifice. 

"Of course, she's not acting alone. She'll effectively control the Sabbat of this town, since you helped her eliminate her competition, such as it was, within the Sabbat here. Come now, Buffy. Didn't it seem just a bit coincidental that you got attacked as soon as you arrived? In any case, your wound provided her with the blood she needed." 

"If all this is true, then why did she save me?" asked Buffy, not wanting to believe. It was horrible enough to have been betrayed once by a vampire she'd let herself trust. Twice would be too much to bear.

"Given that you're wearing one of those godawful shirts she enjoys so much, I'd say she probably _likes_ you after a fashion. She wanted you with her so that you'd be protected when the demons arrived. When they do come, anything within several hundred miles that isn't mystically protected will be annihilated. 

"As for why you, I don't really know. She's shown an odd tendency to 'adopt' the occasional human, at least until she gets bored with them. You're her most recent best friend/lover/slave/pet and eventual midnight snack. Hell, she's a Malkavian, who knows _why_ she does what she does? 

"Speaking of which, that's how she was so successful in infiltrating us. Her clan weakness, which she explained to you, I saw from the tapes, is her greatest strength. She can actually create a surface personality that's so strong that it defies most of the methods of examining the personality. She actually _believes_ for a time that she's Melissa Wu, sixteen year-old ex-prostitute vampire. Of course the _real_ Melissa is always there, guiding the other personality's actions and gathering information to strike. 

"I'd had suspicions that _something_ was going wrong in the Rat Pack. There were a couple too many blown operations and convenient deaths. It finally came out for me a week ago, when I was contacted by a Tremere who'd _seen_ her and remembered her from a couple centuries back when she infiltrated **their** clan. Andru found out about it and they kicked into overdrive before I was ready. I'd still thought I had time. I assume that Melissa dominated Scratches into going and getting you. She'd probably been watching you for some time. You say there's another me on your world? Not surprising. From what I heard you say about the Slayer's task, you probably _need_ somebody to help you kick arse and take names." 

Buffy sat at the table, her eyes open in shock. She could **feel** the truth in his words. Finally she said. "Um, my Giles isn't like that. He's a librarian." 

He shrugged. "Still, I'll bet there aren't many overdue books there. Most librarians don't have ten years in Her Majesty's SAS." 

"What's that?" asked Buffy. 

"SAS, Special Air Services. Sort of like your Navy Seals or Special Forces, except we use intelligence and planning instead of just firepower and electronic toys. I changed my name after I left there and entered the organization. Didn't want to be traced by my military record." Deveraux shook his head. "Your question just shows another problem with you Yanks. You don't know bollocks about things outside your own immediate environment. If you'd watch a bit of the History channel instead of 'Jerry Springer' you'd be a hell of a lot better off. Oh well, at least you're willing to learn." 

"Whatever you need, I'll help you. I've already let a lot of people get hurt because I trusted one vampire. I'm not about to let it happen again," said Buffy, her voice grim with determination. 

"Good girl," said Deveraux, a tiny note of approval creeping into his tone. "Here's what we're going to do."


	9. Chapter 9

Buffy and Deveraux stepped out of the interrogation room and into the hall

Buffy and Deveraux stepped out of the interrogation room and into the hall. To Buffy's disgust, Deveraux lit another cigarette. She wanted to snatch it away, but he'd recuffed her hands behind her. "For transport," he'd explained. 

"All right, hold it." said a heavyset man wearing a gold badge. Buffy recognized him as Detective Miller, the officer who'd actually read her her rights when she'd been arrested. "Federal marshall or not, you can't have her 'til the paperwork goes through." 

"The paperwork won't go through until sometime tomorrow morning. The plane leaves in two hours," said Deveraux, an edge in his voice. 

"Then she and you can just settle down here an' enjoy our fine Southern hospitality for a little while longer," Miller smirked. 

Deveraux sighed. "Detective, let me explain something to you. This girl is a federal witness in an rather important trial. That is why you were all given those orders about not shooting her. You are the officer in charge and you performed well. On my word I will ensure that you are covered in glory from on high for your actions." 

"However," Deveraux continued, in a merciless tone. "If you delay me for one millisecond longer, I will place a couple of calls. One will arrange delayed transport for in the morning. The other will awaken the U. S. Attorney General, who will awaken your state's governor, who will awaken your city's mayor, who will awaken your chief of police, who will doubtless ensure that you spend the rest of your all-too-brief career as a meter-maid in the _nastier_ parts of town. Got it?" 

Miller had turned an unhealthy shade of green at Deveraux' icily indifferent recitation of the consequences of delaying him further. "Uh, s-sure Marshall Deveraux. I guess we don't need the paperwork now. We'll get it in the morning." he said, smiling weakly. 

"Good show. We'll just be leaving now," said Deveraux, as he and Buffy walked outside. He opened the door and helped her inside. Then he entered from the other side, started the car and off they went. 

"You didn't have to be so rough on that guy," said Buffy, in a snippy voice that usually drove Giles crazy. "He was just doing his job." 

Deveraux reached his hand out and patted Buffy on the head. She flinched away, but was hampered by the seat belt and cuffs. "Hey!" she said. "Quit! What's that for?!" 

Deveraux retracted his hand. "I was always taught that little girls were something special. If they said something childish or naive or even downright stupid, you just give them a little pat on the head and say 'That's nice, dear.'" 

He turned to Buffy. "That's nice, dear." 

She scowled angrily at him. "That is a _seriously_ sexist thing to do. I'll bet you don't do that to the _guys_ that work for you." 

"No, I don't," he said with equanimity. "Generally, when they do or say something stupid, I just give them a good smack behind the ear and they generally get the idea." 

"Nice to know you're equal-opportunity in treating people like crap," said Buffy. "Like you did with that cop, who was _still_ just doing his job." 

"In point of fact, he was _not_ doing his job. His job was to keep you there until the proper paperwork arrived. Any policeman who can be intimidated out of his prisoner doesn't deserve his badge. What exactly has my counterpart been teaching you, anyway?" Deveraux asked with a sniff that called up Giles' own bewilderment at American culture. "Most of the darkness in this world and most likely yours springs from human hearts. Until you can more clearly see and understand that darkness, all the combat techniques in the world won't do you a bloody lick of good." 

Buffy sat in silence at that, then, "Where are we going?" 

"To an ally's house to outfit you for your little undercover job. Turn around a bit," Buffy turned her back to him and saw the lights of the city passing her as they drove along the darkened streets of Memphis. He unlocked her cuffs and removed them. 

Buffy sat back up, then lashed out with her hand, intending to give this Giles a pop on the back of the head. Nothing hard, of course, just a tiny reminder of who was the Slayer. Sometimes people needed that.

Intending was the word, though. Swift as a striking snake, he parried her arm and managed to pin it behind her back. He used that leverage to then bend her forward until her head touched the dashboard. He didn't even look at her. "You will note that one can learn quite a bit about hand-to-hand combat in the SAS. I'm going to release you now. If you give me any more trouble, I'll spank your bottom and put you in the trunk. For your information, I'm a rather lousy card-player, principally because I never bluff." He released her hand and she started rubbing it. 

"How did-" Buffy started, astonished.

"-I do that? Quite simple, really. Your Slayer fighting skills, which I observed on the security cameras in the mall and the store are quite effective. However, like any standardized martial art, it is a relatively simple task to analyze the style and take advantage of its weaknesses. Your 'Slayer-Fu' seems to be a hard style that takes advantage of your heightened speed and strength. You go for the heart or head in most attacks. However, hard styles are vulnerable to soft styles that concentrate more on leverage and the redirection of force and momentum. It doesn't matter how strong you are, when you can't bring that strength to bear." 

"Also," he continued, coolly. "If I could analyze your fighting style, others could as well. Including those vampires you slay. I should recommend enrolling in a martial arts class, preferably Aikido, Jujitsu or Tai Chi. You need to supplement your standard moves with others and remain unpredictable to your enemies, that's how you stay alive." 

"You just watched me on tape and figured all that out?" asked Buffy. 

"Of course. Your Giles is trained in what, occultism, history, medieval weapons? I was trained to go interesting places, meet interesting people and kill them, and I was bloody well good at my job." He said. "Still am, for that matter." 

Buffy swallowed. The idea of _Giles_ as a commando or an assassin was just too strange for words. 

"I've realized, I've been harsh with you, haven't I?" asked Deveraux. 

"You think?" said Buffy. 

"Yes, actually. You need to understand, though. So much depends on this. You _must_ get the Dagger, and the only thing that will allow this is Melissa's bit of affection for you. One thing I must warn you about. Do _not_ attempt to kill her or otherwise attack her. However she may act, she is no longer some punk street child with a few mystical tricks. Melissa will have full command of her powers and faculties. 

"I listened to your description of the vampires you faced in your world. Melissa was right about that part. Even the Kindred you fought earlier tonight were young and weak. Melissa isn't. She first came on the scene in Europe, anyway returning with Marco Polo from his China journey. If you aren't a history buff, that's a good 700 years ago. It is quite possible that she was Kindred for a long time even before that in China. 

"Her plots and manipulations in various personalities have causes wars to rage and cities to fall. Malkavians also love 'pranks'. They enjoy putting humans and other vampires in bizarre and frightening situations and shattering their usual beliefs. These pranks get larger the older the Kindred gets. One of Melissa's 'better' pranks was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. That little incident triggered the First World War. Just researching her true career took the better part of that week I mentioned earlier. 

"If she suspects you, she'll squeeze your brain dry of information and leave you a soulless husk. That is why I've been so harsh. I'm worried, and when I get worried I get peevish. Can you forgive me?" he asked, his tone reminding her of Giles with its self-conscious embarrassment/ 

"Okay, I forgive you. What about that wolf-cub?" asked Buffy. 

"I doubt there was a wolf-cub. Andru most likely put that in 'my' mission briefing to lure Scratches and Rebecca to theirs deaths. I expect they were slaughtered as soon as they arrived at their destination." 

"You're awfully cold about this, you know. If somebody had done that to _my_ friends I'd be a little upset." said Buffy, looking at him. "and don't even _think_ about that patting on the head stuff!" 

"I find I have a choice. I can either throw myself on my bed and bawl my eyes out in grief over my loss, or I can find and punish those who inflicted that loss. I choose the latter course," said Deveraux. "The job comes first. Always." 

They turned into a driveway leading to a large house on a hill. 

"Who is this ally guy, anyway?" asked Buffy as they got out of the car. 

"He's the leader of the Toreador, a vampire clan of artists and patrons of the arts, music, etc. He is also the highest ranking of the Camarilla vampires in the city." 

Deveraux knocked on the door. "He's a bit eccentric, hasn't quite let go of his mortal life," Deveraux said, looking a bit embarrassed. 

"Sounds lovely," said Buffy, yearning for vampires who'd just try to kill you. 

The door opened and two large men with machine pistols clenched in their fists admitted them into a large foyer. 

"Okay, so this guy is like, the new, um, prince, or something?" asked Buffy, a bit proud of herself for remembering the terminology. 

Suddenly, a pair of double door opened and a new person entered the room. He was tall, with dark, wavy hair and he wore sunglasses and a white, rhinestone-studded suit with an open shirt that had a stiff, pulled-up collar. 

The newcomer struck a familiar, hipswaying pose and spoke as Buffy's jaw dropped. "The Prince is dead, little darlin'. Long live...the King."


	10. Chapter 10

No way, thought Buffy __

No way, thought Buffy. _No way that's_ Elvis. 

"Dev, good to see you again," said Elvis, turning to Deveraux. "And who's this pretty little lady here?" 

"Um...Buffy," said Buffy, still somewhat floored. 

"Quiet, isn't she?" asked Elvis. 

"Some moments less than others," said Deveraux. Buffy frowned at him as he continued. "We've a very serious problem, and I'll need your resources to help resolve it." 

"What do you need?" asked Elvis, in a slightly weary tone of voice. 

"Access, more than anything else. I remember you have a copy of the Eidolian Chronicals, and that there is a ritual of warding against telepathic intrusion within. Melissa has doubtless obtained the Dagger by now. Buffy here is going to penetrate her group and steal it back. However, she needs a way to guard her thoughts against at least casual intrusion, thus the Chronicals." 

Elvis was nodding. "Yes, I know that ritual. Came in handy dealin' with the old Prince." 

"Okay, hold it. How do you know about all this mystic stuff. I mean, no offense, but you're _Elvis_," said Buffy. 

Elvis turned to her, and Buffy for the first time sensed the latent power within him. "When my momma died, I gained a great interest in spiritualism and the occult," He smiled, barely exposing his fangs. "After my...transformation, my interest in those arts increased." 

Elvis turned back to Deveraux. "We best get to it. This cat won't skin itself," He looked at Buffy. "You can wait in the den area, if you'd like." 

"Unless of course you'd like to come with us," offered Deveraux. "These spells often involve quantum mechanics and calculus equations. If you pay attention, you might even learn something," he said. 

Buffy stepped back slightly at that. "Uh...no thanks. I'm allergic to math." 

Deveraux snorted. "Awfully convenient allergy there." 

Buffy nodded. "Yep, I sneeze, cough, sometimes even get hives." 

Elvis grinned at that. "I had the same allergy when I was your age, and I'd be a poor host to inflict such discomfort on one of guests. Bubba and Billy Mack here'll escort you to the den. I got satellite TV. If you're peckish, just tell them and they'll have somthin' brought to ya. I'm fairly sure there's some fried chicken and some peanut butter and fried banana sandwiches left over. I can't enjoy such thing anymore," he said, his voice edged with regret. "But my...employees do and I can still smell, and remember." 

"Sure, thanks," said Buffy. 

"I wouldn't go wanderin' the house though," said Elvis. "There's...other folks here aside from myself and they get a bit eccentric." 

Deveraux spoke at that point. "That means stay in the bloody den until I come for you." 

"I know what it means!" said Buffy, crossly. 

Deveraux looked at her a moment longer and then nodded gruffly, turning away. 

Elvis spoke to the two men with the guns. "You two show Miss Buffy here to the den and get her any refreshments she wants, then return to your posts." 

The two nodded silently as Deveraux and Elvis left. "Right this way ma'am," said one in a toneless voice. 

They traveled through the house, paintings and antiques filled the hallways. From a series of speakers set in the ceiling, Buffy heard the muted sounds of the hymn "Amazing Grace". She shook her head slightly. A vampire into gospel music, she thought, that is _definitely_ a new one on me. 

As they walked along Buffy asked. "So, what's it like working for Elvis?" 

Silence. 

"Not much into conversation, huh?" she asked. 

Silence. 

Annoyed, she tapped one on the shoulder. "You guys aren't deaf, or something, are you?" 

The one she tapped turned his head to her slowly, panning the area like a security camera. She looked into his eyes and saw...nothing. No hope, no anger, no fear. If the eyes were the window into the soul, Buffy was looking into an empty room. She felt a chill creep up her spine. 

They'd stopped in front of an archway leading into a room with several couches, chairs and a huge TV screen. "Here's the den, ma'am," said the one she'd tapped in that same empty voice. "Do you need any refreshments?" 

"Um...no, I'm fine," she said. She actually was a little thirsty, but she didn't want to be around these two another second. 

They nodded to her and turned away, walking with robotic precision back to their posts. 

Buffy rubbed her arms to ward off the chill she felt despite the relative warmth of the room. She sat on a couch and found a remote. She began flipping through the TV channels, pausing ever so often. 

"...aw Jill, all the washer needed was more power-" Click. 

"...2259. The name of the place, is Babylon-" Click. 

"...today is Ginger Spice-" Click. 

"...on Jerry Springer, people who've slept with-" Click. 

Annoyed, Buffy turned off the TV. _Progress,_ she thought_, three hundred channels and still nothing on. _

Buffy sat in the sofa and realized another urge. "Oh lovely. There's gotta be a bathroom around here somewhere," she said to herself. 

She got up. "Sorry, Giles, Deveraux, whatever. But nature calls." she muttered. 

She walked through the corridors of the mansion, looking for anything bathroom-like. The doors she tried opened into closets, bedrooms and showing rooms filled with the beautiful clutter of the rich and artistic. _Mom would give her left kidney to see this place, _thought Buffy. 

Finally, as her need mounted, a door opened into a room with sink, mirror and toilet. "How do _I_ spell relief?" she said to herself, "B-A-T-H-R-O-O-M. Beats the heck out of Rolaids." 

A little later, mind clear and bladder empty, Buffy stepped back out in the hall and realized she couldn't quite recall the way back to the den. _Oh great, now I'm lost,_ she thought. _No way will Giles understand this, especially_ this_ Giles_. She started walking, seeing if she could remember a route back. 

Then, ahead of her, she saw someone moving. Buffy remembered the warning about 'eccentricities'. She shook it off. _I'm the Slayer,_ she thought_. I can handle asking for directions. Besides, if they give me any problems, there's plenty of wood if I need a stake. _

Thus resolved she moved to catch up. 

*****

"Good, we're nearly finished, then," said Deveraux in satisfaction. 

"About time," said Elvis. 

A toneless voice came over a speaker. "Your Majesty." it began. 

Deveraux raised an eyebrow at Elvis. "I _am_ the King, after all." 

Deveraux simply shrugged and resumed writing. "Report," said Elvis. 

"Sir, she's gone." 

"Well, go and _find her_ and tell me when you do!" commanded Elvis. 

"Yes, sir." the toneless voice replied. 

"You know, Dev, this coulda come at a better time," said Elvis. 

"There's always a better time," Deveraux reminded him.

*****

Moving quickly, Buffy caught up to the figure. She was dressed in an old-fashioned Southern Belle's dress. She was taller than Buffy and her dark skin contrasted with the white of her dress. "Uh...hi," said Buffy, a bit embarrassed. "Do you know where the den is?" 

The girl turned to her, revealing oddly empty brown eyes. Buffy stiffened at the sight, but then the girl smiled and her eyes seemed to fill with life. "Hello, there. I'm Emily, what's your name," her voice had a lovely Southern lilt in it, mixed with some other accent that Buffy couldn't identify. 

"I'm Buffy." 

"Are you one of Daddy's friends?" asked Emily. 

"I don't know. Who's your Daddy?" asked Buffy. 

"You're in his house. You should know." she smiled then, exposing pointed teeth. "He's not my _real_ Daddy, of course. But he's the King and I'm his Princess. He made me his Princess." 

Buffy felt an anger rise in her. Ally or no ally, Elvis or no Elvis, nobody had the right to do what the "King" was doing. 

"Do you want to see my dollies? I make them myself. I'll show you." Emily reached out and took Buffy's wrist. Buffy felt the coolness of her touch and was about to protest, but then felt it wasn't worth the effort. Even more than with Melissa and Angel, Buffy felt this sense of belonging, _connection_ with this strange girl and had to follow through on it. 

They walked down some stairs and into a what seemed like a basement den. Doors led off in several direction. Emily stroked Buffy's head. "You have really pretty hair." she said. 

Buffy just smiled in response, held in a weird contentment. She _liked_ Emily. She just wasn't quite sure why. 

Emily led her to a chair that resembled one in a beauty shop. On a table nearby was a mannequin head staring out with empty eyesockets. A variety of tools and makeup littered the table by the chair. "Just sit here," said Emily. "It'll be fun." 

Obediently Buffy sat in the chair. From a hazy distance she knew something was wrong, but couldn't quite focus. Emily caressed Buffy's cheek. "You have such soft skin." she commented. The coldness of her touch caused Buffy's mind to clear. 

"What's going on? Who _are_ you?" demanded Buffy. 

Emily looked into Buffy's eyes and said "Hold still," Buffy felt her mind slam back into her brain and saw the room clearly for the first time. Mannequin heads with removed human faces on them were lined up on a table against a wall. Emily was getting a scalpel from the table. 

"Aren't you happy," she asked, empty smile beaming. "You get to be my newest dolly." 

Trapped inside her own mind, Buffy screamed in helpless silence..


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh, silly me," said Emily, with a grotesquely girlish giggle

"Oh, silly me," said Emily, with a grotesquely girlish giggle. "I don't do _that_ yet." She set down the surgical knife and picked up a marker. Inside herself Buffy stopped screaming and looked through her own eyes. She was helpless to do any more than flick her eyes from left to right, scanning the room. Aside from the ghastly doll collection, there were four bodies in the room, all dressed similarly to the upstairs guards. They had the dried-out look of corpses completely drained of blood. There were no signs of any struggle. 

__

'Hold still fellas,' she thought at the bodies, sickness rising in her. _'This won't hurt a bit.'_ _Yeah, right._

Buffy tried to move, a finger, a toe, anything, but it was like a huge weight had settled on her brain. _But weights can be moved,_ she thought. She willed herself not to panic, not to waste her will in futile struggling. She saw herself beside the weight, a huge block in her mind. She squatted beside the block and dug her fingers under it. Taking a deep mental breath, she lifted up. Outside, her little finger moved slightly. Buffy felt something touching her face a regular intervals. She saw Emily near her face, apparently using the marker to draw a dotted circle on her skin at the hairline. Trying not to panic, Buffy redoubled her efforts to move the block. As it moved, she felt her hands and toes clench. 

Emily hummed a tuneless song as she finished drawing the circle. Now she could cut and stay in the lines. Staying in the lines was very important. Now for the fun part. 

Emily began brushing her new dolly's hair. This one's hair was soft and a pretty multi-blonde color.

Emily felt herself drifting away in the feel and smell of the hair and shook herself back to reality. She'd find a way to save the hair. Usually she just shaved it off because it got in the way of harvesting the face. She imagined herself wearing the pretty blonde hair as a wig, feeling it brushing her face. She smiled at the image. 

Buffy could feel the brush and hands in her hair. She fought down a desire to flinch away, aware that any movement she made would be her last if the vampire-girl noticed and strengthened the block.

Emily picked up and opened a jar of cream. She held it in front of Buffy's eyes. "My dolly faces used to get hard and broke a lot. This lets then stay soft and smooth a _lot_ longer. Isn't that nice, dolly?" Emily dabbed some cream into her hands. 

__

Oh God. If she touches me I'll scream. Please don't let me scream. she prayed silently. 

Emily began smoothing the cream onto the dolly's face, enjoying the warmth and feel of it under her hands. When she finally put the dolly's face on its stand, it would still be soft and supple, but it would lack that warm feeling. Emily wished there was a way to preserve that warmth. It felt so good.

Time seemed to freeze for Buffy as she felt those cold, dead hands crawling like evil cockroaches over her face. The hands didn't just smooth in the cream. Instead they seemed to _linger_ in some obscenely intimate manner on her lips and cheeks and neck. They especially paused to feel the pulse in her neck. Buffy felt a shudder building inside her and pushed desperately at the weight, trying to channel her fear into energy to free herself. Finally, mercifully, the crawling hands went away. Buffy could feel her the muscles in her arms and legs again. 

Emily's face grew close to Buffy's again. The vampiress seemed to be closely examining Buffy's flesh for imperfection. "Oh, goody!" the childlike voice cried. "No pimples. Pimples are yukky!" 

__

Joyness, thought Buffy, feeling a wave of hysterical laughter threaten to bubble up in her throat. That'd_ make a great letter to Clearacil. "Four out of five psychotic vampires recommend _your_ product for the faces they cut off." I can just **see** people flooding into the stores for that kind of product endorsement._

Emily opened the dolly's mouth to check for cold sores. She wanted the dolly's skin to be perfect, inside and out. No sores, but she smelled something faintly. Blood. Someone else's blood. "Oh no, you're not one of _Daddy's_ dollies, are you?! I'm not s'posed to play with **them**," Inside her mind, Buffy sighed in relief, maybe she'd get out of this easier than usual. 

'So much for "Never look a gift Slayer in the mouth"' Buffy thought. Emily drew even closer to her face. Then Buffy felt a tongue slide into her mouth and along her teeth. Buffy put all her will into clamping down on her gag reflex as the tongue continued its probe her teeth and lips. After a seeming eternity, the invader withdrew and Buffy felt her mouth being closed.

Emily frowned in concentration and daintily smacked her lips, tasting the faint blood residue from the dolly's mouth. She grinned in pleasure and relief. "Oh goody! You're _not_ Daddy's dolly. You were some _baby's_ dolly. Finders keepers, losers weepers! Now you're mine. Mine, mine, mine, mine!" Emily said in a singsong voice. 

Inside her mind the block was almost gone. Just a little longer and psycho-babe was going to get a stake dinner. _Assuming I can get a stake of course,_ she thought. 

Emily sat back, satisfied. She stroked her dolly's cheek and chin one last time and picked up a surgical knife. "Here we go, dolly," she said eagerly, moving in with the blade. 

"You go first!" said Buffy as she slammed both feet into Emily's stomach and knocked the taller girl back a few steps. Then she leveraged herself up and over the chair, putting it between them. 

"You sit down _right now_, dolly. I'm just starting!" Emily ordered, sounding like a bossy eight year-old. Even avoiding Emily's eyes, Buffy could feel the compulsive power in her voice. Involuntarily she took a step forward, before pulling back. 

"Sorry. Gotta cancel the facial, I just remembered I've got a manicure across town," the Slayer quipped, as she edged around the chair, looking for a weapon. Buffy saw a large hunting knife on the table and grabbed it. As she got the knife Buffy saw the nails of Emily's hands lengthen into six-inch claws. "Speaking of needing a manicure..." Buffy began as they continued circling the chair. 

With hideous strength and a growl of frustration, Emily grabbed the chair one-handed, ripped it from its steel and concrete setting and sent it flying across the room to smash into a wall, digging a deep impression into the brick's surface. 

Buffy stepped back. With a blur of speed, Emily charged her. Buffy barely sidestepped the girl, who swiftly turned around and charged again. Rolling into a crouch, Buffy studied her enemy. Emily was supernaturally fast and strong, but she didn't seem to have much experience in fighting. _Considering the whammy she can put on people, she probably doesn't have to fight,_ Buffy thought grimly. 

"Not to be rude much," said Buffy, circling, bringing the knife on guard. "But I think you've got somebody stuck in your teeth." 

The other girl frowned slightly and probed her teeth with her tongue. Then she realized she being mocked and charged in fury again. "That's right. Here girl." said Buffy, lining up the knife. As the vampire girl reached her, Buffy sidestepped and lined the blade up at a perfect angle for a decapitation. Emily's neck struck the blade full on. 

It was like hitting a stone wall for Buffy. The knife was ripped from her hand by the vampire's momentum. When Emily turned back, there wasn't any blood on her neck. It didn't even look scratched. 

Emily snatched up the knife. "Oh, give me a _break_!" complained Buffy, as Emily crushed the blade, wadding it into a metal ball which she tossed aside.

Emily seemed to have calmed down again. "That was fun, dolly. But now I have to get back to work, so go sit by the table." Emily smiled as the dolly obediently walked to the table. She'd had a little trouble but now it was over. As Buffy reached the table she lunged and grabbed a surgical knife.

Emily sighed in annoyance. "Oh, put that down, dolly. That can't hurt me. Nothing can." 

"My name is Buffy, you sick, evil bitch!" hissed Buffy through gritted teeth. "And the knife's not for you. It's for me." So saying Buffy touched the blade of the knife to her cheek.

Emily's eyes widened in horror. "No!" she cried in despair. "You'll _ruin _my new princess doll!" 

"I don't know," said Buffy in a ragged voice. "I hear scars are _really_ fashionable these days. We'll find out if you come any closer." 

"But why don't you want to be my dolly? If you're a dolly you can live with me forever!" said Emily. 

"Oh, that's _definitely_ an incentive," snorted Buffy. "Hate to break it to you, but getting your face cut off is sorta _fatal_ if you know what I mean." 

"Oh, is that all?" said Emily, in a kind of relief. "It's not fatal." Emily clapped her hands. "See?" 

A couple of doors opened and three figures stepped out, one for each face on the mantle. The two men and the woman wore street clothes and moved with a shambling furtiveness. The skin of their faces and skull was gone. Their facial muscles and eyeballs were naked to the air, moving in the red wetness. Despite that, no blood dripped from them. They stood in the room, awaiting instructions, their eyeballs swiveling to watch the drama unfold.

Buffy felt her gorge rise and a scream swelling in her throat. "Daddy doesn't like me to kill for my dollies," explained Emily. "He doesn't know I'm making dollies again. But I'm not killing them, so it's okay." 

__

Oh Lord. I'm not seeing this. Please tell me I'm not seeing this, she thought. The knife trembled in Buffy's hand and another door opened. Deveraux and Elvis stepped into the room. 

"Sweet Jesus!" cried Elvis in horror and disgust as he look around the room. 

"Hi, fellas," said Buffy in a high, thin voice full of barely controlled panic. "I could use a little help here!" 

Deveraux said nothing. He coolly watched the situation and then touched a button on his boombox. The eerie, lilting tones of Led Zepplin's "Battle of Evermore" floated into the room. 

Lyrics: _The Queen of Light took her bow, and then she turned to go._

Emily frowned at Elvis. "Aw, Daddy! I stayed up _all_ day making dollies to surprise you. And now there's no surprise!" 

Even paler than before, Elvis spoke "I'm sorry honey, but you need to go beddie-bye now. The King wants his Princess to go sleepy-time." 

Lyrics: _The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom, and walked the night alone._

Emily grew agitated at his voice and frowned in stubborn anger. "No!" she said. "I don' _wanna_ go beddie-bye, I wanna make my new dolly! And you're not a king 'cause of those stupid people listening to you sing. You're just a king 'cause I'm a Princess and I made you like me so you could be my daddy! Now, go 'way!" 

Buffy felt the flicker of terrible will pass her by. His mind overwhelmed by the force of Emily's command, Elvis walked stiffly out the door. 

Lyrics: _Oh, dance in the dark of night, sing to the morning light._

"We meant no disrespect, lovely Princess," said Deveraux in a fawning voice. "We only wanted you to be rested when you received your gift tomorrow."

"I get a present?" she asked then Deveraux averted his eyes as she commanded "Show me!" 

Lyrics: _The Dark lord rides in force tonight, and time will tell us all._

By a long chain, Deveraux pulled a large cross from his overcoat pocket. The cross was silver and covered in rubies, sapphires and emeralds, creating a rainbow effect as it caught the light. 

Buffy looked at Deveraux in concern. She remembered Melissa telling that crosses didn't work on vampires here. Was that something else she'd lied about? The Slayer tensed, ready to back Deveraux' play, whatever it was. Deveraux shook his head slightly at Buffy, telling her to wait. 

Lyrics: _Oh, throw down your plow and hoe, rest not to lock your homes._

Emily just stared wide-eyed at the cross as it turned in the air. "See how it catches the light, like a rainbow," Deveraux said in a soft, low voice. "See the rubies reflecting on and off, dark and light, like eyes blinking before sleep." 

Lyrics: _Side by side, we await the might, of the darkest of them all._

Emily's eyes seemed half-closed when she opened them again. She shook her head slowly, trying to stay awake. Buffy could feel energy building in the room. Emily's energy. If she shook herself awake, Buffy knew that she and Deveraux would die, or join the ranks of Emily's "Dollies". She felt ill at the thought. 

Lyrics: _I hear the horses' thunder, down in the valley below._

"Feel the light warm you. It is a rainbow after a gentle, spring rain that washes all your cares and fears away," Deveraux's voice was dropping lower in tone, becoming softer and gentler with each word. 

Lyrics: _I'm waiting for the angels of Avalon, waiting for the eastern glow._

The colors of the cross seemed to change, merging to become the pale yellow of sunlight. Buffy held her breath has Deveraux spoke again. "See the sunlight peeking through the clouds. It warms your skin and you close your eyes and just...sleep," Deveraux' last word seemed to fill the room. Buffy felt a backwash of fatigue begin to steal over her. She shook her head and snapped out of it. Emily stood in the center of the room like a store mannequin, eyes closed, utterly still and silent. 

"What did you do to her?" whispered Buffy. 

Deveraux spoke in a normal tone of voice. "I triggered her daylight sleep cycle, that should buy us a good nineteen hours or so, possibly longer," 

He looked at Buffy's aghast expression at the loudness of his tone. "Oh don't worry, very little could awaken her before sunset tomorrow. Now come on, we'll need to put her in her resting place. With luck, when she _does_ awaken she'll have forgotten all that happened today." 

"Couldn't we just...you know?" asked Buffy as she drew her finger across her throat. 

"Hardly," said Deveraux. "This being is ancient. Most likely nothing short of a rocket launcher would even scratch her. And she _will_ awaken if she's attacked. Besides, Presley's blood-bound to her, and she's his sire. If we attacked her, he'd be forced to defend her with his life _and_ the lives of all his machine-gun carrying guards. We'd be dead before you grabbed a stake." 

They carried the body past the faceless people, who'd fallen like stringless puppets when Emily went unconscious. Inside a room was a steel, velvet lined coffin with pink pillows and quilts in it. Raggedy-Ann wallpaper decorated the walls. Beside the coffin, three sleeping mats with blood-soaked pillows on them lay on the floor. "Let's just put her in and go," said Buffy. "This whole place is creeping me out." 

"I second the motion," said Deveraux as he and Buffy put Emily into the coffin and Deveraux wiped a cold sweat from the brow. Buffy felt her heart leap into her throat as Emily suddenly turned onto her side.

Deveraux held up a hand. "Just a reflex. She not waking." He closed the lid and they walked out of the coffin room.

As they walked, Deveraux asked. "How in the bloody hell did you get into this situation?" Sheepishly, Buffy explained. 

Deveraux shrugged and said "I suppose that's understandable, but next time just wear some Depends."


	12. Chapter 12

Interesting Times

Interesting Times [_by John Jones_][1]

  


See part 1 

Part Twenty-Three

"Hold it," said Buffy. "I've gotta know. What is the deal with theboombox?" 

"I am a worker of magick, Buffy, somewhat like Andru." Giles explained. "Although I prefer to use music as a focus instead of computers. I used Henley's energetic rhythms to short out any recording devices that were present in the police interrogation room. There were matters we discussed that I had no desire to share with the Memphis police. And of course the imagery of darkness and light in "Battle of Evermore" was quite appropriate in the casting of my sleeping spell on Miss Emily back there." 

"Is that why you used the cross? I thought crosses didn't work against vampires here." said Buffy. 

"Mostly that is true. To successfully use a religious symbol against one of the Kindred requires an enormous amount of faith and trust in the diety represented by that symbol. For my part, God doesn't seem to care about me, so I don't really give a damn about *Him*. On the other hand, the cross *is* a beautiful piece of artwork, and Emily is a Toreador. The Toreadors' weakness is a predisposition for beauty. They can easily become entranced by beautiful objects, beautiful places, even beautiful people." he said, looking at Buffy. She felt herself flush. 

"That isn't a come-on. It's a statement of fact. Your pretty face was what made you a target. Tell me, weren't there times in her presence when she seemed to get distracted from her goal, sidetracked?" 

Remembering with a shiver how Emily had stroked her face and hair, Buffy said "There were a couple of times." 

"Even elder Toreador are vulnerable to entrancement. Thus the cross aided me in entrancing her and made the spell more effective." he finished. 

"Enough explantion, Presley's probably worried about us, and himself for that matter." They walked up the stairs. 

Elvis was pacing nervously in the foyer when they saw him. "What happened?" he asked. "Is she all right?" 

"Buffy is fine." said Giles. "Emily has gone to sleep for a time. I suggest you deal with that mess downstairs. I implanted a message of forgetfulness in her mind before I left. As long as the evidence of her activities is gone, she shouldn't resume her 'dollmaking', at least for awhile." 

Elvis nodded in combined relief and despair. "I can't keep doing this, Dev. I can no longer recognize myself as being my momma's son. My momma's son wouldn't do the things I have to do for her. But I love her Dev. The blood-bond leaves me no choice but to love her and care for her and clean up after her when she does these sickening things." 

The King look away for a moment. "You know the truly horrible part? Sometimes she's not that...that mockery of a child. She's noble and kind and has the wisdom of ages. She was originally Ethiopian, did you know? As I understand it she was one of the first converts to Christianity in that country. She believed when the Ethiopian eunach from Acts spoke of his encounter and baptism by Phillip. She even kept the faith when she was Embraced, for a time, at least." 

Elvis hung his head. "But she couldn't reconsile it, being saved and Damned at once and she retreated. She came to me while I was *dying*, you know? I thought she was an angel from heaven come to save me." "The Dagger can cut anything, Elvis. Ropes, dimensional walls and emotional slavery, given the proper rituals." said Giles reassuringly. "You will be free of her, and soon." 

"I truly hope so. If I'm not, then one fine day I will walk into the sunlight. As head of the Toreador in Memphis I've condemn criminals in my clan to be staked and left for the sun to burn. I've watched them on videotape. It seems a painful death, but a swift one. Surely brevity counts for something in such a case." 

"You won't need to find out," said Giles. He reached into pocket and drew forth the cross, handing it to the King. "Thank you for loaning this to me. It was a great help." 

"She was always fond of religious imagery, even in her madness." he replied. "You have what you need?""Yes." said Giles. 

"Then good fortune to you." He turned to Buffy, "And for whatever the prayers of the Damned are worth, I'll be praying for your success aswell." "Um...thanks" said Buffy. 

He nodded absently. She and Giles walked to the car and got in. As they started driving, Giles handed something shaped like a walnut to Buffy. "When you've found Melissa and seen where the Dagger is, crush this. It will send a signal that allows me to bring in the troops to deal with Melissa and get the Dagger. It will also shield your mind from casual probes."She took it and pocketed it. 

"Are you going to do as I tell you," he asked. "Or is all if this just a waste of my time." 

"I'll do it." she said crossly. 

He sighed in weary exasperation. "You know, this would be ever so much easier for me if I just didn't care. I *am* a worker of magick, after all. It wouldn't be terribly difficult to just subtly influence your mind such that you obeyed me without question." 

She glared at him. "Then why don't you?" 

"Because I care about you. You've awakened in me feeling I'd though long buried and thus I cannot just shackel your will and use you as a tool." hesaid. Buffy swallowed at the word 'feelings' and opened her mouth to speak. He cut her off. "Please allow me to explain. It isn't what you think. And if you make the comment I think you will, it will be distracting. I am...unused to discussing such matters and it is difficult for me." 

Not trusting herself to speak, Buffy nodded in agreement. 

"I wasn't always like this, you know. As a child I was somewhat shy and retiring. I had this horrible stutter and at my father's insistance wore very conservative clothing. Gods," he snorted. "Can you imagine, a ten-year old dressing in tweed?" 

Buffy smiled at that. "You might be surprised." she said. 

"My father was very wealthy, a member of Parliment, which is Britain's version of your Congress. He was very concerned with proper appearences. I was instructed in the various manly arts. Marksmanship, self-defence, riding. By the time I came to university I was probably the deadliest Pre-law major, business minor the school had yet seen. 

"It was at University that I met her. Her name was Genifer and she was of Romany stock and the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. For some miraculous reason I have to this day to fathom, she returned my affection and we married while still in school. Hell, I sound like a cheap romance novel." he snorted"No, you don't." said Buffy, curious and wanting to hear more. "Father was horrified, of course. A *Giles* marrying Gypsy trash? Unheard of. He cut me off without a cent until I saw reason and came home." Buffy felt her eyes sting at the of what might have been between *her* Giles and Jenny. 

"I didn't see reason and we got by. I got a clerking job at a law office and achieved scholarships to put myself through school. After a year we had a child, Sarah. Genifer sent a picture of her to Mother and Father. Apparently, Mother had been working on Father, much the way the ocean will patiently erode even the hardest stone. Father relented his banishment. He saw that I would persevere and at least he *had* a grandchild, whom he doted on from the moment he held her. 

"Things changed then. Father used his influence to aid me in getting a promotion to a liveable wage, and 'loaned' us money to be paid back 'when you get steady on your feet, Rupert.' Then came Christmas. I had to work late on some documents for one of the senior partners in the firm on Christmas Eve, the old bugger. Genifer and Sarah went to my parents' home. Her parents were dead, you see. In the weeks previous my Father had made several rather inflamatory speeches in parliment concerning the Irish troubles. And in response, the Ulster Liberation Front, a small, extremist splinter of the IRA, detonated a bomb at my parents' home and killed everyone there." 

Buffy stifled a gasp and a coldness seeped into her chest. "After I got the estate settled I joined the Army. With my childhood training and Father's friends' connections, I entered the SAS. At that point I just wanted to die, preferrably while killing the terrorists who'd destroyed my life. I didn't die, though. To my surprise I found I was very good at my tasks. Apparently one of the positives with not caring whether you lived or died was the freedom to concentrate more fully on mission objectives." 

Buffy continued to listen in horrified fascination to this story of an alternate Giles. 

"Eventually, on authorized missions and private excursions, I found and killed all those who'd been involved in the bombing. The trail ended with my putting a bullet through the eye of a Cabinet Secretary. Oddly enough it wasn't even revenge that drove me. It seemed to be more of just the overwhelming English urge for order and completion. 'A place for everything and everything in its place.' Even if that place was a shallow grave in the middle of nowhere." 

"You killed them all," asked Buffy, still uncomfortable with *Giles* doing these things. "Just like that?" 

"No," he said in a calm voice. "Not 'just like that'. It took a good deal of time and effort to track them down and kill them all. Fortunately, I was and am a patient man." 

"O-kay." said Buffy, her eyes a little wide at these revelations. "My magick fully manifested while I was still in the SAS. A satchel charge detonated close to me and I somehow shielded myself with will alone. A fellow mage in the unit secretly helped me get a handle on my power. When I finally mustered out, he offered me a job helping to save the world from supernatural evil. Not having anything better to do at the time, I accepted. Time has a way of distancing pain. Even if my wounds didn't heal, they at least stopped hurting so much or so often. I changed my name because Giles reminded me too much of what had gone before. Deveraux was my mother's maiden surname. Martin was my grandfather's name. I still hold a bit of anger toward father to this day." 

Buffy just sat there, still not certain how she fit in, but not knowing how to ask. 

He stared into the Memphis night for a moment and then continued. "It is a terrible thing to outlive one's child. There is always a void of potential that will never be filled. Although I tried. If one has the power and the knowledge, one can actually look through time, can see possible futures and pasts. I looked upon my child's life as it could have been. She would be older than you now, probably in college. But you bear an incredible resemblence to her as she would be at your age, in both physical appearence and in personality. Now do you understand?" 

"I-I think so." said Buffy, compassion lancing her heart. 

He went further. "I am sending you into terrible danger because I must. Circumstances have left me no choice. I *need* you to survive this, though. I do not think I can bear the loss of my child again, even by proxy. So please, as a favor for me that I do not deserve, don't make a foolish error and get yourself killed."She smiled wanly. "I won't. I promise." The car stopped. "Examining the log of the teleporter, I found where you'd been sent. You told me in the police station what you and Melissa had arranged. Obviously I can't let you out right on the spot, she may have watchers. If you cut through the alleyways, you should get there. Just follow what I said, and you'll get through this. My combat team is assembling as we speak. Good luck, and be *careful*!" 

Buffy got out of the car and it sped away. Shivering slightly in the warm night, she walked into the dark alleys toward her destiny.

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	13. Chapter 13

Interesting Times

Interesting Times [_by John Jones_][1]

  


See part 1 

Part Twenty-Four

A faint April drizzle dampened the night as Buffy walked through the garbage-strewn alleys on her way to the arrival point. She passed a pile of refuse that stank of urine. As she wrinkled her nose and walked faster, the pile turned over, revealing itself as a man sleeping in the garbage. 

"Yo baby, whas happnin'?" a decrepit-looking black man with broken, yellowing teeth strode from another alley into her path. 

Distracted by her surroundings, Buffy hadn't noticed him. She stepped back from the alcohol stink that emenated from him. "Pretty white girl like you shouldn't be here. You needs a escort." he said, looking at her speculatively. 

"Um, that's okay," said Buffy. "I was just...out for a walk. I'll just keep walking." 

"You ain't from anoun' here, are ya?" He stepped a little closer. "You best let ol' Joe walk you outta here. They's bad folk here 'bout. 'tain't safe." 

"She's safe enough with us, nigger." Buffy and Joe turned to see three young men walking out of an alley. Two of the men wore black shirts with deathmetal band logos and upside-down crosses around their necks. The speaker, and apparently the leader wore similar attire and jewelry. In addition his face was tattooed with a giant swastika. In his hands he cradled a shotgun that was leveled at the black man. 

"She's comin' with us, *boy*. Now get the fuck outta here 'for I blow your black ass in two." said Nazi-boy. 

The black man hesitated and Buffy said "Don't worry, I'll be fine." 

Joe looked at her with mingled pity and disappointment in his eyes, then turned and walked away. Buffy geared up for battle. 

She turned back and saw the two guards on their knees and Nazi-boy with his head bowed toward her. "My lady," said Nazi-boy in as earnest and respectful a tone as he could seem to manage, "the Queen bade us to escort you to her." 

Buffy just stared at them in confusion for a second. They looked back at her and moved nervously, concerned they'd done something wrong. Buffy suddenly realized the situation then. She tried to imitate Cordy at her snootiest and said. "Don't just stand there. Take me to her." Relieved, they formed into an honor guard and led her through the alleyways. 

In front of what looked like an old storage building, they stopped. Nazi-boy walked to the door and knocked. The door cracked open and he held a whispered conference with the door's guard. The door opened completely. Buffy and her guards walked inside. The place had no windows and was stiflingly hot. A few ceiling fans stirred the smelly, humid air. The place was fairly crowded with people dressed similarly to the other guards. As she entered they stopped whatever they were doing and formed into a double line. 

Stairs led up to a balcony set several yards above the floor. A figure walked onto the balcony. The figure was barely recognizable as Melissa. She was still short, but her hair was now jet black and long. Her face was clean of that raccoon mask of makeup, but was now painted geisha white. She wore a short black evening dress. On her cheeks were symbols. Flashing back to a rare time she'd paid attention in History class, Buffy recognized them as the twin lightning bolt symbols of the Nazi S.S. stormtroopers. Around Melissa's neck hung an upside-down crucifix. She carried a dagger decorated with red and white gemstones. *The* Dagger. 

"She has come, my faithful followers." started Melissa in an echoing, charismatic tone. "My aide, the Duchess of the Darkling Summers has arrived. Soon the gates of Hell shall open wide and we shall claim this world as our own!" 

Buffy struggled to maintain her composure as she walked toward the stairs. 'Giles was right. She's totally lost it.' As Buffy came near the steps, she saw Melissa gesture and she felt herself floating through the air. 

Buffy stifled a noise of panic and let herself be guided by Melissa until her feet touched the balcony floor. Melissa gazed arrogantly over the crowd. Buffy slipped her hand inside her pocket and broke the walnut, still watching the Dagger in Melissa's hand. Melissa spoke to the crowd again. "Let there be guards set with guns at the ready. Let nothing interfere with this most unhallowed rite." A murmur of approval came from the crowd. Buffy in tow, Melissa stepped through the balcony's archway entrance and shut the door. Then she exploded into laughter. 
    
    * * *

Giles watched his troops and examined a pocketwatch that now showed the warehouse through Buffy's eyes. 

"She's at the Dagger." He looked over at the grim troops of vampires and werewolves as well as the men in urban camouflage. "Shortly, we're going in. You all know your assigned tasks. But remember again, get the Dagger *and* get Buffy to safety." 

One of the vampires spoke. "What if we can't get the girl out? I mean, the Dagger's all that's really important, isn't it?" 

Giles walked over to the speaker and gazed coldly into his eyes. "If the girl is harmed, I will be *very* upset. *You* don't want me to be very upset, do you?" 

"N-No sir!" gulped the vampire. 

"*Do you?*" Giles called aloud to the rest of the troops. 

"*No, sir!*" they shouted as one. 

"Excellent." he said in a cheerful tone. "Then let us move it out and get this done!" 
    
    * * *

Buffy watched in shocked puzzlement as Melissa just died laughing. Finally, the vampire girl regained control of herself. "Oh, God." she said, "That is *so* great." 

"Um, Melissa, what's going on?" asked Buffy. 

"Huh? Oh. I've got my own cult of Nazi-Satanists, isn't it cool? Yeh, I'm the Queen of Hell on Earth. It's great." she said, still snickering. 

"Could you give me just a *little* more detail? I've just spent the last couple of hours or so running through this city trying to avoid the police. I've been a little out-of-touch, if you know what I mean." Buffy tried to put just the right note of peevishness in her voice for realism, but not enough to anger the vampire. "And what was that stuff about opening the gates of Hell?" 

"Oh, okay. So I hauled ass outta there when you ran off. I lost the blueboys that were after me and I ended up near here. Some guy tried to rape me at knifepoint, which was cool since I was thirsty. After I stuffed his body in a dumpster, I walked a little bit more and found this place. Some vampire had set himself up as the Devil or something and gathered these idiots around him. I figured, 'what the fuck?' I wanted a safe place to crash. And these guys had a lot of what I was looking for in a man right then. Really big guns and itty-bitty little brains. I challenged their "King of Hell", wasted his ass with that boiling blood thing, 'cause it's pretty impressive, and set myself up as *Queen* of Hell." 

"What about the opening Hell thing?" asked Buffy, surely she couldn't have gotten everything wrong. 

"Oh that. That was just to get 'em to do what I wanted without asking any questions. If they've got a goal they think they're workin' toward they'll concentrate on that instead of poking holes in my story. So, how's it feel to be a Duchess of Hell?" 

Buffy frowned slightly. "What was *that* for?" 

"So they wouldn't treat you like my pet or something. Now they won't fuck with you any more than they would with me. I thought I gave you a pretty cool name. I mean, even those morons wouldn't buy *Buffy* the demonbitch. What, you didn't *want* to be a nobledemon?" 

"Oh yeah," Buffy said sarcastically, "Ever since I was a little girl, *that* was my dream in life." 

"Aw, you're just pissed 'cause I got to be Queen of Hell first. Tell you what, in a little bit I'll let you lead 'em in the Dance of Power." offered Melissa. 

Buffy raised an eyebrow, "The *what*?" 

"The Dance of Power. You lead them through this ritual dance that raises 'mystical power'." she said, folding her fingers into quotation marks. 

Melissa snickered again and continued. "I just made up some mumbo-jumbo and set it around another dance's steps. I'm tellin' ya, you just haven't *lived* 'til you've gotten a bunch of Nazi-Satanists to do the Hokey-Pokey!" 

Even Buffy chuckled at *that* image. Then she sobered and asked "What happened to Cyke?" as she concentrated on Melissa. 

Melissa shrugged. "He went back home to the sewers." she lied smoothly. 

Buffy felt her deceit. "What about Scratches and Rebecca?" 

"They're waiting for the teleport gates to fully charge so they can get picked up, same as we are." she said, lying. 

Buffy nodded in apparent acceptence, feeling something die inside her. To keep Melissa distracted she asked "What is the deal about the Dagger?" 

"It's like a key. The doorway is that Hellmouth thing. The Dagger can either lock or unlock and open the door. It can do a lot of other shit too, if you know the proper rituals." she said. 

"Can I see it?" asked Buffy, aware of the risk but deciding to chance it anyway. 

Melissa gave her a long look, but then shrugged and slid it over. "Sure, just don't lose it. That would *seriously* suck." said the vampire girl. 

Buffy held the Dagger in her hands. She imagined she could almost *feel* the cool aura of power radiating from it. Power indifferent to the morality of its user. 

Suddenly, they heard a muffled explosion. A second later the sounds of gunfire and screaming filtered up from below. 
    
    * * *

Giles and his troops stormed into the building like avenging angels. *Hell's* avenging angels. The vampires and werewolves ripped a swath of red murder through the hapless humans, while his human troops mowed down the opposition with automatic weapons. 

A youth with a shotgun and a swastika tattooed on his face ran screaming at Giles. "You won't stop the Queen, you Kike-lovin-" 

"Oh, shut up." said Giles, as he shot him through the face. "Now where the bloody hell is Buffy?" 
    
    * * *

Buffy and Melissa ran to the balcony's edge. The room was filling with smoke from gas grenades. Buffy could dimly see shapes struggling in the fog below. She could hear screaming and gunfire, as well as the occasional growling and ripping sound. She tried not to think too hard about that. 

Melissa had grabbed a belt of grenades. She pulled the pin on one and started to hurl it. Instantly Buffy pulled the stake that Giles had given her and slammed it into Melissa's heart. "That's for Cyke, Rebecca and Scratches, you bloodsucking bitch!" said Buffy in a cold fury. 

As it plunged through flesh the stake mystically disintegrated. "Got a ritual that stops the first stake of the night." She snarled at Buffy, still holding the grenade. "You stupid-" 

Suddenly, rounds of autofire slammed into Melissa, smashing her back through the balcony doorway. Giles was firing an automatic rifle at the vampiress. Melissa dropped the grenade as she was blasted back. Swiftly Buffy kicked the grenade through the door after her and then dove in an acrobatic leap off the balcony. 

Explosion after explosion sounded above her as she hit the ground and then rolled to her feet. She pulled out the Dagger. Giles smiled and nodded in relief. Buffy started to walked toward him when one final explosion sounded and she felt something slam into the back of her head, catapulting her into darkness. 
    
    * * *

When Buffy awoke she found that she was outside. For some reason she was on her back and couldn't move her arms and legs. Giles was standing near her, a sorrowful expression on his face. With a chill Buffy realized that the reason she couldn't move was that she was tied to some kind of table or altar. There was a fur covering beneath her. 

"Giles, Deveraux, cut me loose! What's going on?!" she asked, frightened and confused. 

"I'm afraid I wasn't allowed to be completely honest with you, Buffy. I have seen you before. I saw you as I looked upon other worlds. The sight of you living and breathing gave me the inspiration to try to revive my own daughter back to true life. I sought out creatures of the Umbra in order to gain the power I needed. I chose...unwisely." he finished. 

An alien expression of unholy glee seemed to sparkle in Giles' eyes. "But enough about him, let's talk about you. You look *so* cute like that, absolutely de-licious!" said a voice in a southern accent, a voice that came from Giles' mouth. 

Buffy looked at him. "Who are you? *What* are you?" she asked. 

"That's an interesting question. A guy in Texas wrote a bit of verse 'bout me 'fore he blew his head off. I kinda liked it." 

The Giles-thing gestured and "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones began playing on the boombox. 

Lyrics: Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste. 

Giles began reciting a poem in that same vilely joyous tone. 

"I am the thorn in foot, I am the blur in the sight;"   
"I am the worm at the root, I am the thief in the night." 

Lyrics: I've been around for a long, long year, stole many a man's soul and faith. 

"I am the rat in the wall, the leper that leers at the gate;"   
"I am the ghost in the hall, herald of horror and hate." 

Lyrics: And I was 'round when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain. 

"I am the rust on the corn, I am the smut on the wheat;"   
"Laughing man's labor to scorn, weaving a web for his feet." 

Lyrics: Made damn sure that Pilate washed his hands and sealed His fate. 

"I am canker and mildew and rot, danger and death and decay;"   
"The rot of the rain by night, the blast of the sun by day." 

Lyrics: Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name. 

"I warp and wither with drought, I work in the swamp's foul yeast;"   
"I bring black plague from the south and the leprosy in from the east." 

Lyrics: But what's puzzling you is the nature of my game. 

Giles' face turned back to his wide-eyed captive. He held the Dagger in his hand. In a gloating tone he said "I am Belial. And thanks to this, and to you, this world and all others will soon be mine!" 

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	14. Chapter 14

Interesting Times

Interesting Times [_by John Jones_][1]

  


See part 1 

Part Twenty-Five

Buffy just looked at him for a very long moment. Her eyes were unfocused and far away. An expression of despair covered her face. 

Belial smirked at her. "Aw, whatsa matter? You mad 'cause you just figured out what a dumb bitch you are?" 

Buffy didn't even answer. 

"What?" he asked. "No reaction at all? I think I'm hurt." 

Buffy's eyes hardened. "Is this the part where I say 'You'll never get away with this!'?" she asked. 

Belial shrugged. "You might as well for dramatic effect. Hell, since we got a little time, I'll even be a good villain and give that whole master plan speech thing." 

"Do I have a choice?" asked Buffy. 

"Not really." he said, smirking. 

"There never was a wolf cub, was there?" asked Buffy. 

"Oh, sure there was." said Belial. "Wanna meet him?" 

Belial walked Giles' body over to the altar. He pulled the fur covering to the side and held something up. Still attached to the fur and skin of the rest of the body was the head of a Garou in Crinos form. A small head. Even though he was dead, Buffy could see the final expression of pain and fear etched into the cub's feral features. 

"His name was Tommy." explained Belial. To the head held near Buffy's face he said. "Say hi to Buffy, Tommy." 

Belial worked the cub's dead jaws in a speaking motion. "Hello, Buffy." said Belial, in a mocking imitation of a child's voice. 

Filled with anger at the violation, Buffy strained against the bonds to get free. Belial watched her futile struggles with an amused expression. "Giles here was right about one thing. You *are* cute when you're angry." 

"You killed him. You bastard!" hissed Buffy. 

"Sure did. The Dagger draws power from a different source. Still, whatever the species, there's nothing quite like the death by torture of an innocent child to get them mystical juices a' flowin'." Belial smirked, pleased with himself. 

Buffy looked around herself. Men in urban camouflage were hooking up electronic equipment. Around the altar had been drawn some kind of circular mystical diagram. She saw a good many vampires and recognized the mishapen forms of Black Spiral Dancer werewolves. Rising up on a hill in the near distance, she recognized Elvis' mansion. 

Belial followed her gaze to the house. "Yeh, I know. Nothin' quite like havin' a rich buddy when ya need a place to have a party, huh?" 

"Elvis may be a vampire, but there's no way he'd let you do what you've got in mind." said Buffy. 

"True. Too very true. It was only with the greatest of difficulty that Giles here, under my direct control at that point, was able to convince him that the only way to free himself from the blood bond was to sacrifice a killer of Kindred, that would be you." 

Belial continued. "What the King *doesn't* know is that we've replaced his *usual* blood-bond freedom ritual with dark, sparkling Folger's crystals. Oops." giggled Belial. "Too much TV. I mean, with a ritual that makes your Hellmouth open wide and say 'Aah!' Then a bunch of my relatives show up and we get to have ourselves a *grand* ol' time." 

"Doesn't the whole destroy the world thing get *just* a little old?" asked Buffy. 

"Destroy the world?!" asked Belial, chortling. "Why Hell no! Thing is, demons, in their natural form, are bodiless. We need bodies. Oh, sure, we *could* rip the world apart to get the raw material to *make* our own bodies, but why bother? Epecially when there's five and half billion or so factory originals right here for the taking." 

"You're going to possess us." concluded Buffy. 

"Got it in one. But 'possession' is such an old-fashioned term. I prefer merger, or at least hostile takeover." explained Belial. "Look, we'll accomplish great things together. I mean, by yourselves you humans have come up with some *dandy* sensory experiences for us. Wars, rapes, the Black Plague, Hitler's death camps. That last one still gives a warm feeling right here," he said, grabbing his crotch, "when I think about it. It was *that* beautiful." He mimed wiping away a tear. 

A werewolf shifted to the form of a large, one-eyed man in army fatigues. "Sir," it said. "We've got the transmission dish set up. Everything's pretty well ready." He turned an eye toward Buffy, a hungry look stirred within it. 

Belial grabbed the guy's chin and wrenched it toward him. "Ah-ah-ah. No thinking about the reception cake before the wedding." 

The man swallowed, nodded and walked away quickly. 

"Transmission dish? What are going to show? Hell's public access channel?" asked Buffy. 

"Somethin' like that. Remember, demons are bodiless. They can hook into energy waves just fine, though. And when they get here, they ride the satellite transmission waves into every phone, TV or electrical appliance on the face o' the Earth. Oh sure, those starving Ethiopians and a few hermits in Buttfuck, Oregon might escape for a little while, but we'll hunt 'em down soon enough. We'll have nothing *but* time after all." 

"And then what?" asked Buffy. 

"Then we walk around the Umbra and find whole *new* worlds to play with. We'll take them alive, too. Who wants to mess with a dead planet? It's like fuckin' a corpse. You ever fuck a corpse?" he asked Buffy. "Oh yeah, I guess you *have*. 'Course your vampire boy-toy was *un*-dead, so technically he doesn't count." 

Buffy just glared at him in helpless rage. 

"What about Giles, or Deveraux? Is he alive or what?" asked Buffy. 

"You mean, does he have to live with the knowledge that he fucked the whole universe? Damn straight. Where's the fun otherwise? Besides, I kept up *my* end of the deal." said Belial in a mock defensive tone. "I brought his little rugrat back to life. I mean sure, there was that whole screaming in pain thing from the burned flesh and the bomb shrapnel, but I never claimed to be perfect. Still, I do good work. Hell, the little shit'd be wailin' up a storm even now if Marty hadn't cut off her life force and sent her spirit back. Some people are just *damned* ungrateful, you know?" 

Buffy felt too ill to even respond to that. 

"As for the rest of it, once I got in I put a copy of his personality in charge up front in his head. I kept the real him with me so I could torture him some. It can get a little boring just sitting in somebody's skull with nothing to do. I'd give the upfront autopilot a few nudges here and there that he thought was his own idea. It worked like he said that artificial personality bullshit with Melissa worked. 

"That was funny as hell by the way. The real Giles slipped in some info here and there, but you never caught on. I guess you're a *natural* blonde, huh? Hell, you just about got the whole plan told to ya. Only the names were changed to protect the guilty. I'll tell you. I just about *shit* when that little bug-eyed vampire stole the Dagger. Luckily, you got it back for me, and blew Melissa all to hell. 

"Andru managed to hack into my personal journals, but he tripped a safeguard that alerted me. The satellite is protected from demons, mostly. I had to do a quick brainwash on the autopilot to convince him of that whole traitor story. We hit the station and chased Andru out. If it gives you any hope, he's down on Earth somewhere, maybe running to your rescue. Or at least *crawling* to your rescue, running not being an option for him at this point. 'Course the whole company thinks he's a traitor and they've got shoot on sight orders for him. He's a survivor. Probably dug himself a hole and pulled it in on himself to hide. When my buddies come we'll dig his ass out, eventually." 

Belial rubbed his hands in glee. "Guess it's showtime. Go call the King." he said to a vampire. "I said this ritual would free him from the blood-bond, and I'm a demon o' my word. It's amazing what a little Slayer blood can do." 

The vampire dialed on a cell phone and spoke into it. Belial stuffed a ball gag into Buffy's mouth. He patted her cheek. "Sorry, sweetie, no screaming during the ceremony." The demon gestured at the boombox again and it started playing Peter Gabriel's "Family Snapshot". 

Lyrics: Four miles down the cavalcade moves on, driving into the sun; 

Elvis and his entourage of guards and the Colonel, his old manager and now ghoul, started down the hill toward the floodlamps and his salvation. 

Lyrics: If I worked it out right, they won't see me or the gun. 

Elvis spared one last glance at the foundation of the house. Soon he'd be free of Emily forever. 

Lyrics: Two miles to go, they're clearing the road and the cheering has really begun; 

Some of Belial's minions, their eagerness mirroring their master's, watched the progress of Elvis' party toward them. 

Lyrics: I've got my radio, I can hear what's going on. 

Buffy and Belial watched his approach on a giant TV screen near the altar. 

Lyrics: I-iiii've been waiting for this. 

Elvis closed his eyes, savoring the approach of freedom. 

Lyrics: I-iiii have been waiting for this. 

He hated to shed the girl's blood, but since it was the only way to prevent countless more atrocities, then so be it. 

Lyrics: All you people in TV land, I will wake up your empty shells; 

Lights flickered on several screens and consoles as the transmission dish completed it's power-up. 

Lyrics: Peak-time viewing blown in a flash as I burn into your memory cells! 

A vampire flashed his fangs in triumph at Belial and gave him the O.K. sign. 

Lyrics: 'Cos I-iii'm alive. 

Belial smiled at Buffy and fingered the Dagger in unholy anticipation. 

Lyrics: They're coming 'round the corner with the bikers in the front, I'm wiping the sweat from my eyes. 

Elvis' two front-door guards entered the gathering of Belial's people. 

Lyrics: It's a matter of time, 

Belial made two incisions, one on each of Buffy's arms, just deep enough for blood to well out. Oddly enough, the cuts were painless. 

Lyrics: It's a matter of will. 

The demon touched the blade to the blood on her arms. Instantly, the wounds closed and the Dagger absorbed the blood into itself. 

Lyrics: And the governor's car is not far behind, he's not the one I've got in mind. 

The Colonel entered the gathering, casting guilty, nervous looks at the altar and trying not to be noticed. 

Lyrics: 'Cos there he is -the man of the hour, standing in the limousine. 

Elvis entered the circle and stood next to Belial and the altar. He avoided Buffy's gaze. 

Lyrics: "I don't really hate you, I don't care what you do; we were made for each other, me and you. 

"I am truly sorry for this, Buffy. I wish before God that there was another way, but Dev says there's not and I have found nothing helpful elsewhere." said Elvis as Buffy grunted into the gag, trying to get him to stop the ritual before it was too late. 

Lyrics: I want to be somebody, you were like that too. 

"I just want to be free, that's all." said the King. 

Lyrics: If you don't get given you learn to take, and I will take you." 

Elvis looked away from her and nodded to Belial, who had retreated into his persona as Giles. 

Lyrics: Holding my breath, 

Belial caused Giles to raise the Dagger above Buffy's chest. 

Lyrics: Release the catch; 

A smirk of glee crawled across Giles' face as Buffy tried one last, desperate struggle to be free. 

Lyrics: And I let the bullet fly... 

The Dagger plunged down. 

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	15. Chapter 15

Interesting Times

Interesting Times [_by John Jones_][1]

  


See part 1 

Part Twenty-Six

The Dagger fell toward Buffy's heart. Suddenly it shifted in mid-stab as Belial whirled around and redirected it to plunge into Elvis' heart! The King staggered back several steps and Buffy saw him fall to the ground, writhing in agony as the Dagger drained his blood and life. 

Belial walked over to the fallen King and squatted on his haunches beside him. "So, how's that whole brevity thing workin' out for ya?" he asked in a tone of friendly cruelty. 

Elvis held the Dagger's hilt and tried to pull it out. "Well, I *am* freeing you from the blood-bond." reminded Belial. "Don't I even get a 'Thank you. Thankyou vermuch?' Ungrateful bastard." Elvis tried to speak, but no words came. He collapsed and lay still. Buffy saw his body begin to turn to dust. Soon all that was left was a skeleton clad in a jewel-studded white suit with a dagger sticking out of its breastbone. 

The Colonel gasped at the betrayal and turned to flee. His path was blocked by the one-eyed werewolf. While most of the werewolf was still in human form, one of his arms had transformed into a furry, clawed limb. Bringing up the claw, he ripped the Colonel's throat out with one vicious swipe and kicked the blood-spurting body away. A group of the vampires leapt on it, tearing and sucking. 

Buffy watched the King's guards. Strangely enough, they had no reaction to any of this. They just stood silently, like robots awaiting fresh instructions. With a chill Buffy saw why. 

Stepping into visibility, Emily walked over to Belial. "Can I play with my dolly now?" she asked, looking at Buffy. 

"Not just yet, Princess. I'm not through playin' with her myself." he said with a grin. 

"But you *said!*" she whined. 

"Listen, if you go play dollies with a couple of your boys here, I'll give you a surprise treat." said Belial. 

"What treat? Tell me *now!*" she commanded. Even Belial glanced away from her eyes. 

"Oh, all right." he said in mock surrender. "A little ways away from here there's a family with a buncha kids. Even a baby. If you're *real* good and let uncle Belial finish up here without makin' any more of a fuss, I'll take you over there and you can make some *baby* dollies. Now won't that be fun?" 

"Oh wow!" she said in that childish voice. "I've never made baby dollies before! Okay." She beckoned to two of Elvis' men. "You two come here. I wanna practice without using the marker." 

Emily had her scalpel in hand before they mercifully vanished behind the giant TV screen. 

"I swear, these kids today, huh?" said Belial, shaking his head in playful despair. "When Giles here put her to bed, I made sure she had a wake-up call. It was time she had a new daddy anyway. One that would support her and encourage her in pursuing her talents." 

He scratched his head. "Now where was I? Oh, yes." He placed a foot on the skeleton's neckbone and bent down to grab the hilt of the Dagger. With a visible effort he wrenched the Dagger free, crushing the neckbone under his foot in the process. 

He picked up the skull and straightened. He held the skull high in the air and in a mockingly sorrowful voice said, "The King is dead!" Then he shrugged and tossed the skull away to shatter on the side of the altar, making Buffy flinch slightly. "Fuck it." he said and laughed. 

Belial walked back over to Buffy, plucked the gag out of her mouth and tossed it away. She glared at him said, "I don't know how or when, but when I get free, I'm going to kill you." She spoke not in rage but with simple, icy determination. 

He smirked at her. "I like a girl with spirit, makes breakin' 'em that much more fun." He tapped his chest. "You know, Giles here was always fond of those musical foci. Now me, I've got some *dandy* sex rituals I'm gonna try out. I'll bet you can guess *your* position in 'em." He looked at her as she lay tied to the altar and said "Yep, that's the one." 

"Giles! If you're still in there, fight him! You can do it!" she said. The expression on Giles' face seemed to change slightly, then reverted to its state of unholy glee. 

"Not bad, he's still got some fight in him. 'Course he's still outvoted. After all, possession *is* nine-tenths of ownership." A speculative look came into his eyes. "You know, he's got all sorts o' surrogate father feelings for you. That's *fine* by me. After all, fucks are deluxe, but incest is best!" He turned away, still chuckling. 

Belial pointed at the boombox again. It began playing the Doors song, "Break on Through." As the pounding music began, Belial leapt onto the altar, standing in the space between Buffy's calves. He raised the Dagger high. 

Lyrics: Made the scene, week to week, 

"Are you ready to raise some hell?!" Belial shouted the question to his followers. 

Lyrics: Day to day, hour to hour. 

They roared their assent. 

"Then lemme hear an A-men!" he replied. 

Lyrics: The gate is straight, deep and wide. 

"*A-men*" they cried. 

"Well, A-fuckin'-men!" shouted Belial, and stepped onto the ground again. 

Lyrics: Break on through, to the other side; break on through, to the other side. 

Belial walked to an electronic panel that had a slit in it just large enough to insert a Dagger's blade. 

Lyrics: Break on through, break on through, break on through, break on through! 

Belial stabbed the Dagger into the slot and turned it to the left like a key. 

Lyrics: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, 

The transmission dish began glowing brighter and brighter, preparing to summon the demons. As she watched in despair, Buffy thought she felt someone fiddling with her bonds. 

Lyrics: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! 

The glow of the dish was passing beyond the visible spectrum when Buffy's bonds came free and she was yanked behind the altar. Before her sight was blocked by the altar's heavy stone, she thought she saw something white streaking toward the dish. 

Suddenly, there was a thunderous explosion at the dish! Some debris flew at Buffy, but she was shielded behind the altar. When she looked back up, the dish was wrecked and aflame. Belial and his followers were agog and a voice came out of their speakers. 

"Sorry, dudes. This episode of 'Highway to Hell' has been postponed indefinately due to technical difficulties. Instead we have a special presentation of 'Apocalypse Now.'" 

As she stayed behind the altar, Buffy heard a another piece of music playing. Remembering the movie, she recognized it as Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries". She saw the Dagger unattended and she recalled her conversation with Andru earlier. 
    
    * * *

As she lay tied to the altar, Buffy heard Belial completing his poem to the accompaniment of "Sympathy for the Devil". 'Talk about crimes against music.' she thought. As she lay there, she felt a tingle in the back of her head and found herself in another place. 

In a room of flashing lights and crackling energy, Buffy saw Andru *standing* before her. "First off, you're in virtual reality, that's why I can stand here. We don't have a lotta time so listen close." 

"How did I get here? What's going on?" asked Buffy, bewildered. 

"Your mind's here, the rest of ya's still back on the altar with demonboy. Deveraux sent me an e-mail with a special access code that let me into his private diaries. He musta slipped it past his demon somehow. I only read the stuff after you guys left the mall and Melissa shut down the link. Then the possessed Deveraux came in and chased me out. By the time I contacted Melissa, the cops had grabbed you. We weren't sure if you were really on his side or not. Melissa didn't think so, but I wasn't sure. 

"Anyway, all I could do until the transmitter reached your brain-" he started. 

"Reached my *brain*?! What are you *talking* about?" she asked, just starting to piece things together. 

"That Snicker's bar had more than the usual artificial ingrediants, okay? Those 'ingrediants' had to go to your brainstem before I could pull you into VR. 

"Now *listen!* All I could do before they got there was home in on your location. We didn't know *what* was going on. I convinced Melissa to let you have the Dagger. Then we figured that since you were with Deveraux that he'd lead you to the ceremony site, since it takes your special blood to activate the gate. 

"Mel didn't like using you as bait, but I said we couldn't chance telling you the truth after Deveraux was probably filling your head with crap about us. Besides, we *had* to shut down the gateway ASAP. We figure whatever happens, the gate on your world will open tonight. That won't hurt us here, without the ceremony, but it'll screw your world somethin' fierce. That's what else I found in the diaries." 

"Oh God, I killed Melissa for nothing!" Buffy felt despair fill her up. 

"Look, deal with it elsetime! I can't tell ya all that's gonna happen in case ya get mindprobed. But look, those guys down there are fixin' to get *seriously* distracted. When that happens, you oughta be free. You gotta grab the Dagger and go. Got it?" 

Buffy swallowed her sorrow and nodded. 

"I gotta send you back now or he'll get wise. Good luck an' don't screw up." 
    
    * * *

As she moved with as much stealth as she could manage, Buffy heard another sound, that of helicopter blades. 'Oh Lord,' she thought. 'He *wouldn't!*' 

He would. A one-man chopper suddenly came into view, swooping in low over the crowd of Belial's followers. It opened up with heavy machine-gun fire, carving a swath of death and injury through the mob. The mob reeled back before the assault. A cluster of vampires started firing automatic weapons at the chopper while the thrilling music continued. 

The chopper banked toward the cluster of vamps and shot something at them from a rocket-pod. The vamps were enveloped in a cloud of flame. As they burned, the voice of Robert Duvall's character echoed over the area in his famous quote of "I love the smell of napalm in the morning! It smells like *victory!*" 

More of the mob started shooting at the chopper. Belial was screaming curses and orders. "No, you fucking morons! You're wasting your silver ammo! Switch to regular clips and break out the missles!" He dove for cover as the chopper strafed his area, cutting down more of the humans in urban camouflage. 

Buffy used the confusion to her advantage, making her way to the console. A human looked at her. "Hey! You're not-" She smashed the heel of her hand under his chin and he hit the ground, unconscious. 

"Fire!" cried Belial. "Fire every last fucking one of 'em and bring that little shit down!" Fwoosh, fwoosh-fwoosh. Missles burst out of their hand-held launchers, eager to bring down the mob's tormenter. 

Buffy reached the console and grabbed the Dagger. She gasped as she felt the power from it surge through her for an instant. The gate had not been opened, so the Dagger was still bloated with mystical energy. She looked up. From across the mob she found herself looking straight into Belial's eyes. They widened in rage and recognition. "She's got the Dagger!" he roared. "Get her! Grab her now!" 

Buffy started running. Above she saw the chopper diving and banking, trying to avoid the storm of missles chasing it. A vampire grabbed her shoulder. She slashed at him with the Dagger. As the blade touched his flesh, Buffy felt a surge of power. The vampire collapsed and dissolved. 

Above, Buffy saw the chopper bank away to the right as something spherical burst from the cockpit, shooting away left and heading for earth. The missles converged on the empty chopper and impacted, creating a huge fireworks display. 

The perimeter in front of Buffy had thinned out when she saw Emily step in front of her ahead, blood dripping from her scalpel. Involuntarily she met Emily's eyes as the vampiress cried out "Stop, Dolly!" Buffy felt the power of the Dagger sear into her brain and throw off the mind control, but not before she had locked her knees in response to the command. Thrown off balance, Buffy tumbled to the ground and was buried by tackling bodies. 

She struggled mightily but they were too many and too strong. A couple of the deformed werewolves gripped her arms and legs in their hideously strong paws. The Dagger was ripped from her hand. 

Belial walked over to her and slapped her viciously across the face. "I'd hoped we could finesse the ceremony and take this world intact." He looked at the ruins of the transmission dish. 

"Guess you could play another Stones song." said Buffy. "How about 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.'" 

He held up the Dagger. "But sometimes you get what you need. It's still the night of the crescent moon. The sacrifice has already been made. All I need to do is draw out the ritual gate sigil on the ground and the demons come anyway. They'll blow this world apart, and yours, too. But my buddies will take their forms from this world's carcass and go on to consume the universe. I'll live through it, as will my followers, as will you. You ain't gettin' away from me *that* easy. Who knows? Someday, if you beg me real nice, I might even let you die." 

"Beg this." said Buffy and spat in his face. 

Belial's lips twisted in rage and he brought up his fist when one of the vampires said. "Lord. The other one's down." 

The demon smiled at Buffy. "To be continued." he said. The orange escape pod had landing on the ground. Quickly it dissolved, revealing a disheveled-looking Andru half lying on the ground, trailing his crippled legs behind him like a mermaid's fins. He held a large pistol in his hand and watched the crowd in wary fear. 

"Well," said Belial in a loud voice. "It looks like Iron Butterfly over there just turned back into a caterpiller. I'll leave it up to y'all. What do you think I should do?" 

A rifle shot rang out and the head of one of Buffy's captors exploded. She jerked away from the other's grip and rolled away, looking in the direction the shot came from. As she peered that way, her jaw dropped. 

Blinking into visibility were three figures. One was a small, deformed boy wearing a new watch. Another had four legs and oddly intelligent eyes. The third was female, cradling a smoking rifle, with somewhat singed hair. She wore a slightly blasphemous T-shirt and a defiant expression on her face. 

"I've got a suggestion." Melissa said to Belial. "How 'bout you put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye!" 

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	16. Chapter 16

Interesting Times

Interesting Times [_by John Jones_][1]

  


See part 1 

Part Twenty-Seven

Melissa and the others stood by Andru as her last word hung in the air. Scratches shifted to human form again. 

Belial stared coldly at her, smiled and then laughed. Great gusts of sadistic mirth burst from his lips. His men, uncertain at first, started laughing as well, as the absurdity of the situation dawned on them. 

Buffy felt a helpless rage well up inside her. She understood what Melissa was doing. The vampire girl and her friends were trying to give her a chance to run, sacrificing themselves to save her. 

Buffy edged toward Belial, trying to spot an opening in which to seize the Dagger. She was nearly there when the mirth died out. Belial shook his head and chuckled again. "So the four of you, 'scuse me Andru, three-and-a-*half* of you, are gonna take out the big, bad demon an' save the world, huh? You and what army?" 

A voice as cold and harsh as death itself rasped out a single word, "Mine." 

Buffy turned around at the unexpected sound. Getting a little away from the startled crowd, she craned her neck to see. 

He was a tall man and he rode a light grey horse. As the floodlights illumined him, Buffy saw that he wore two old-fashioned pistols around his waist. His Stetson shadowed his face, but Buffy could see his cold, steel-grey eyes. He was a vampire, but there was something even darker within him. Power came off of him like a black wind. Despite his claim of an army, he rode alone. 

Emily's voice spoke at this point, but the inflections seemed different, more grounded, somehow. She said "...and behold a pale horse: And him who rode on it was Death, and Hell followed with him." 

Clap, clap, clap. "Not bad, Blackthorn, not bad at all." commented Belial. "Of course, you'll be *just* a bit short-handed I'll expect. Apparently there was one *hell* of a lot of emergancies that cropped up tonight. Quite a few of the teams, especially the heavy-duty combat teams, were rushed courtesy of myself and Mr. Deveraux here," he said, touching his chest, "into some *very* nasty situations with a minimum of reliable information. I'd expect there were quite a few losses, yes indeedy." he smirked again. 

"Gotta say I like the whole Clint Eastwood approach. If you'd like I could go have one o' the boys run and get you some tabacco so you could do that whole Clint spitting thing." teased Belial. 

"You've committed the unforgivable sin, demon." Blackthorn said, ice edging his words. 

"Pray tell which one was that?" asked Belial. 

"Fuckin' with me and mine." 

Belial shrugged. "So how'd you know to come to this little party? I thought your invite got lost in the mail." 

"I told him, of course." said Scratches. "Your men, and I use that term loosely, are fools as well as cowards. Rebecca and myself *were* wounded in the ambush. Before I could stop her, she rushed them and they gunned her down. But not before she'd poured the last of her life and power into one final magic. An illusion that *both* of us had charged and fallen." 

Scratches continued in a cool, exact voice. "She was our packmate, and a dear and loyal friend. You and yours murdered her, and this innocent cub, and doubtless countless others. And now you will pay the price." 

"The only price being paid here will be by you fools. For the cost of a one-way ticket to Hell, on the express route." said Belial, sounding bored and annoyed. "You are few, and I am *legion!*" he spread his arms as if to encompass his twisted followers. "Hate to break it to you, but I don't even see a *platoon*, much less an army." he snickered. 

Blackthorne raised his head and Buffy saw death in his smile. "Then you should look in a different light." He thrust his fist into the air and they appeared. Multiple clusters of Garou in the huge Crinos form. They were deployed in clusters that each surrounded a deformed-looking Nosferatu vampire. They were arrayed in a loose semi-circle around Belial's group. 

Blackthorn raised his leathery voice into a shout. "Your chief named me war leader as he lay dying from the bullets of those who stole his cub! By his blood and the blood of his murdered cub I call on you, the Sept of the River Wide, to strike them down! I want you to make sure that not even *God* will sort them out! Now scourge them from off the skin of this world!" And with that he kicked his horse into a charge, and the Garou followed with him. 
    
    * * *

Chaos exploded around Buffy. There were shrieks of pain and the stuttering of automatic weapons. Occasionally there was a crack like thunder as Blackthorne fired one of his pistols. 

Buffy turned into a spinning dervish, smashing soldiers left and right, a kick to the stomach here, a smash to the nose there and they fell. But not quickly enough. Buffy saw three of the humans leveling automatic rifles at her. She was too far away to get them all. She leaped at one and knocked him out. The other two were pulling their triggers when red holes blossumed in their throats like lethal roses. 

Buffy registered the gunshots and turned to see Melissa holding a pistol in each hand. "It's *still* a lousy idea not to bring a gun to a gunfight!" the vampiress yelled. 
    
    * * *

Wyrm's Sight, the one-eyed werewolf, was trying to rally his packs to defend against this unexpected assault. The silver in their guns had been mostly used up by the idiots who'd been shooting at the human's helicopter. A few of the Garou fell screaming to silver, but the rest slammed into the unprepared line of vampires, Black Spirials and Pentex troops like the hammer of God. 

Sight grabbed a Nosferatu's ugly head in his teeth and ripped it from his neck. Then he felt a presence behind him. "You led those who murdered Rebecca." said Scratches, "And now your time has come." 

Sight turned and fled. Ahead he saw a large area of metal polished to mirror brightness. He concentrated and leapt at it. He entered the surface and vanished into the Umbra. With a growl of frustration, Scratches followed. 
    
    * * *

Another group of humans, these with knives since they were apparently out of bullets, charged Buffy and Melissa. "I thought Andru said Scratches *and* Rebecca had beaten some Sabbat?" asked Buffy as she elbowed one in the throat and broke another one's kneecap. 

"That was Belial sending in a fake message to make us think everything was kosher. He duped the voices in." she spoke as she shot two in the groin and chest respectively. She shot again but her guns clicked on empty. The last man, holding a stake and screaming a war cry, rushed at Melissa. Buffy dropped him with a spin-kick to his forehead. She took the stake for herself. 

"Andru told me what happened. But why didn't you just try to read my mind?" said Buffy. 

"I did, in the warehouse, but something was blocking me." Melissa replied. 

Melissa shot another soldier who aimed a rifle at her. He clutched his shattered kneecap and fell to the ground. 

"Sorry," said Buffy, "I forgot about the walnut-thing. What about Andru? We need to find him." She saw a large knife and grabbed it. 

"Gonna be a long walk." said Melissa. "He's back on the station now." 

"So what all happened?" asked Buffy, staking and then decapitating another vampire. "You know, these guys aren't as tough as you'd think." 

Melissa blew another one's head off with the shotgun. "Sabbat procedure. They grab a bunch of poor bastards off the streets, turn 'em into vamps, and throw 'em human wave style into the enemy. The Sabbat creation rites ensure they're pretty much pure evil and semi-mindless. You're doin' 'em a favor by killin' 'em. Probably Belial wanted some expendable supernatural troops is why they're here." 

"Sound like they're closer to the vampires on *my* world." said Buffy. 

"Pretty much." Melissa replied. "Anyway, Andru popped down earthside after Deveraux attacked him upstairs. He figured he was wanted and contacted me on a private channel we'd set up just in case the organization ever decided to fuck us. He told me what happened and we went to find Scratches. Scratches believed us and called Blackthorn. Since Belial thought Scratches was dead, he never bothered to make *him* persona-non-grata." 

The din of battle was much thinner where they were now, moving around it's edges. 

"I'm guessing the River werewolves took him in since he'd just been attacked by those Dancers in *their* space." said Buffy. 

"You got it. Blackthorn's got a *lot* of pull with the Garou. When he heard what happened, he hauled ass down here. The chief lived just long enough to appoint him war-leader. Meanwhile, me and Andru were waiting on Deveraux, at least Belial, to make his move." said Melissa. "Cyke, Blackthorne and Scratches managed to get the Nosferatu to go along, since this was a golden opportunity for them to waste the Dancers, who compete with them for space in the sewers and kill them whenever possible." 

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about trying to stake you and blow you up." said Buffy, with a sheepish smile. 

"The Nazi-warehouse had cameras throughout it. Andru saw what was happening and teleported me out before I got more than singed around the edges. We'll just file the whole thing under "Oops" and forget about it." said Melissa. 

"Is there any way to free Giles, I mean Deveraux, from Belial?" aske Buffy. 

"I don't have any way at hand to cut the connection," said Melissa. "We're gonna have to knock him out 'til we figure it out. One good thing we've got going for us is that you're attuned to the Dagger now. When he cut you and then you killed that vampire with it, it bonded to you. Right now, the only people that can use it to close the gate are you and Belial, and I *doubt* that he's gonna help." 

They moved passed some other machinery and saw a large group struggling in the distance. There was no short way around them. 

"How do I close the gate?" asked Buffy. 

"You just slam the thing into the middle of the sigil he's using and turn it to the right. Like locking a door." said Melissa. The battling figures were just a short distance away. 

"Oh boy," said Buffy as they plunged into the din, "Here we go again!" 
    
    * * *

Wyrm's Sight and Scratches faced each other on the shifting plane of the Umbra. Scratches' totem animal, the Rat, sat on his shoulder and hissed its rage at his opponent. Sight seemed to contract his chest and expand it again, releasing some kind of power. 

Scratches moved in warily. Sight lashed out, narrowly missing his opponent's chest. "Like all of the Rat, you prefer to flee rather than fight." sneered Sight. 

"You fled here, blind one." reminded Scratches. 

Sight replied with a blast of lambant green balefire that hissed past Scratches. At that, the Rat on Scratches' shoulder jumped off and fled away. 

"Even your totem guide deserts you." laughed Sight. There was a roiling, twisting *shape* forming in the "ground" of the Umbra. 

"*My* allies are loyal, though. Before the Widers chased us off, I managed to drag your sidhe friend with me. She was actually still alive when I fed her to *my* friend. Her throat was torn from bullets, so she couldn't scream, but I expect that it hurt quite a bit." Sight pulled his deformed, wolflike snout into a laughing grin. 

Scratches felt the rage filling him. He wanted nothing more than to tear Sight asunder. He fought down the hate. He still needed his wits. Like an unholy birth, a *thing* came into being in the Umbra. It was insectoid, with eight limbs and compound eyes. It's fingers ended in claws, and there were crushing mandibles in its mouth. Like an obscene trophy, Rebecca's head was tied to a belt the thing wore on its thorax. 

The thing fired a blast of brown fire that slightly scorched Scratches' pelt. Scratches danced back a bit and began to speak. "You know, you truly are a fool." 

"I'm not the one who will be eaten. You are." reminded Sight. 

"Do you recall the fable of the Mouse and the Lion?" asked Scratches, dodging and twisting away from the hideous thing. "In it, the lion traps the mouse and the mouse begs to be let free. The lion, seeing no real value in eating the mouse, lets him go. The mouse thanks the lion and goes. Later, the lion is trapped by a giant spider's web. Then the mouse comes along and chews through the webbing, freeing the trapped lion. The two swear eternal friendship and leave." 

The thing fired a sticky mass that enveloped Scratches, holding him fast while the insect approached. Sight growlingly chuckled. "You are about to be eaten and you tell children's tales. Amusing. Stupid, but amusing." 

The Rat returned then, and started chewing on the bindings as the evil insect approached. A stinger dripping a vile fluid erupted from the thing's mouth. 

"Ah," said Scratches. "but all fables are based in fact. This one closer than most. Only the names have been changed. Instead of the mouse and the lion, the true participants were the Rat...and the Gryphon. And the Gryphon remembers." 

The Gryphon tore through the eternally shifting, twilit Umbral sky. It's head, wings and razor-sharp talons were those of an eagle, while it's body and tail were that of a lion. It dove at the insect-thing, which had time for one frightened buzz of alarm before the huge Gryphon's talons slammed into its back with horrific force. The thing's carapace shattered like glass and the Gryphon used beak and talons to rend the foul spirit-creature asunder. It's remains quickly dissolved away. Then the noble totem-spirit turned a cold, predatory gaze at Wyrm's Sight. 

Sight saw death on the wing and fled from it. He'd planned to lure his pursurer into the Umbra where he could call on his spirit ally, who'd just been destroyed. To stay here meant annihilation. Sight ran and concentrated, preparing to step sideways back into physical reality, where the spirit-Gryphon couldn't follow. A portal opened in front of him, he could see his fellows battling the other Garou. He jumped at the portal home and felt his paws brush the entrance. Then daggers pierced his back and sides and he was borne away by terrible wings. 

Scratches watched in dispassion as Wyrm's Sight, screaming and howling in agony, was torn to pieces by the Gryphon. The Gryphon, its beak and talons wet with blood, swooped by him. "I thank you for honoring the ancient pact, mighty Gryphon." said Scratches, bowing his head in a gesture of respect. The Gryphon lifted his head to the sky and gave forth a triumphant, birdlike screech. Then it flew from sight. 

The Rat finished chewing and Scratches thanked him as well. Scratches then took Rebecca's head and, as best he could, wiped away the ichor of the insect thing. Then he called up a portal and moved to go home. 
    
    * * *

Buffy and Melissa attempted to find Belial in the carnage and chaos of the battle. The unexpected appearence and charge of the Sept of the River Wind and their temporary Nosferatu allies had demorilized the forces of Belial. But those forces still outnumbered the newcomers, and the numbers were starting to tell. 

Buffy watched as a vampire charged her. She slammed the stake into its heart and followed up by slicing off the head. 

"You're getting pretty good at that!" called Melissa over the din. 

"Practice makes perfect." Buffy replied. 

Finally they cleared the edge of the battle and saw Giles. He was using the Dagger to carve an intricate design into the ground before him. He looked up as they approached. 

Melissa raised the her shotgun. "Shit. No time to do the knock-out thing. Sorry Deveraux, wish there was another way." 

Buffy heard Giles humming the Door's "Light My Fire" and cried. "Melissa, no!" 

Too late. Melissa pulled the triggers on both barrels. The shotgun exploded in her hands, setting her on fire. Melissa panicked and started to run. Buffy slammed her stake into the girl's chest, paralyzing her so that she couldn't fight or flee while Buffy tried to help her. Then she ripped off Melissa's jacket and used it to smother the flames. 

Melissa wasn't dead, but she was badly burned. She could barely move as Buffy removed the stake. "Hurts." hissed Melissa through fire-blackened lips. "Up to you now, killer cheerleader, go waste his ass." 

Belial snickered. "Very touching, I think I'm gonna cry. Boo-hoo-hoo." 

"Oh you're gonna cry alright." promised Buffy. "You're gonna cry 'Ouch', 'Uncle', 'Help' and 'Mommy' before I get finished with you, you evil freak!" 

"Sorry, sweetie-pie. I'm *just* a little occupied with destroying the world just now. Go play with somebody else. *Her,* for instance." he said, smiling. 

Buffy turned to see Emily approaching and felt herself go cold with fear. 

Emily held the bloody scalpel before her and smiled that terrible, empty smile. "Oh goody!" she said, grinning in anticipation, "Now I can *finally* play with my dolly!" 

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	17. Chapter 17

Interesting Times

Interesting Times [_by John Jones_][1]

  


See part 1 

Part Twenty-Eight

Emily still wore the white dress she'd had on earlier in the evening, although she'd added to her ensemble. She wore the cross that Giles had used to put her to sleep and there were fresh bloodstains on her white dress. 

"I'm not tired now, Dolly." she said in that empty, childish voice. "Not the least little bit." 

"Tell you what," said Buffy, backing up. "Tomorrow morning I'll take you to a Toy's R Us, there's *plenty* of dollies there." 

Emily shook her head, continuing to follow Buffy at a leisurely, measured pace. "I don't wanna *buy* dollies, I wanna *make* them. It's a little messy, but it's *really* fun. I don't even have to use the marker anymore." 

"Goody for you." said Buffy, sarcastically. 

Clouds built in the sky with supernatural speed. Red-tinted lightning split the sky. A storm was coming. 

Buffy turned and ran. There was no way she could fight Emily without something other than a stake. Buffy had seen Belial's men using rocket launchers before, and she remembered how to use them from when she'd defeated the Judge. 

"Oh, goody, a race!" Buffy heard Emily say. 

Ahead of her, Buffy saw a straggler from the battle, a Black Spiral trying to flee. Buffy dodged around it as it reflexively lashed out at her. The claws came within inches of Buffy's face. She knocked the arm away and it turned to pursue her. 

"No!" squealed Emily. "Bad wolfie! You'll scratch up Dolly's face and ruin her skin!" Buffy looked back to see Emily seize the deformed Garou and pull it toward her. With her other dainty-looking hand, Emily grabbed the Dancer's chin and tore its head from its shoulders with a single yank. Blood fountained into the air and soaked her dress. She licked some of it from her face and then tossed the head and body aside. 

With a feral gleam in her empty eyes, Emily charged at Buffy. Buffy, trying to distract Emily, threw the stake at her. The stake splintered when it struck her chest, but its force of impact severed the chain holding the cross. The cross tumbled to the ground. 

"My cross! You broke it!" shrieked Emily. The insane vampiress glared at Buffy in a rage. "I don't want you to be my dolly anymore! You broke my cross, now I'll break *you!*" 

"Great." said Buffy to herself. "Most people go from the frying pan to the fire. I get to go from the fire to the surface of the sun!" 

Emily charged at Buffy. Buffy tried to dodge, but Emily was too fast. She swung her hand backward and caught Buffy a glancing blow. The force was still enough to knock Buffy flying backwards. She landed with a grunt and looked beside her. Lying next to her was the cross. She grabbed it. 

Buffy tried dangling the cross as she'd seen Giles do. "Um, doesn't the light look pretty, Emily. Like a rainbow, or something." 

The furious vampire paid no attention and charged again. Buffy barely rolled away in time. "Forget *that*" she said. She held the cross in a more traditional manner, trying to drive Emily back. 

Snarling, Emily turned on her again. Buffy tried to remember some lines from those old vampire movies. It was worth a shot. She had no *other* cards to play. "In God's name, I say get *back*" and shot Emily a glare of determination as a peal of thunder echoed from the sky. 

The glare was a mistake. Emily's gaze suddenly trapped Buffy like a fly in amber. "Um, God?" said Buffy to herself. "If you're up there, I could *really* use some help just now!" Buffy looked back at Emily. Despite her own fear, Buffy felt a stirring of pity for the vampire girl, trapped as she was in a form alien and hostile to the faith she'd held in life. 

Emily stopped snarling and slowly approached, cocking her head at the cross. The cross caught the floodlights and seemed to be glowing. Emily kept walking, undeterred. 

Buffy looked at the cross, still held outstretched in her frozen hand. There was no question now, the cross was actually glowing! Buffy felt a spasm of hope. Hope that died when she saw that Emily kept on coming. The vampire girl was smiling in triumph. 

Emily stopped just shy of Buffy and reached out her hands. Buffy would have flinched away, but was held helpless by the girl's will. Emily's cold hands touched Buffy's fist as it gripped the cross. 

Buffy glanced at Emily's face. The vampire's head was bowed as if in prayer. Buffy heard whispered words in a language she could not fathom. Emily looked up again, still smiling in victory. Behind her eyes, Buffy seemed to see a trapped, insane thing, screaming in frustration. Emily took the cross from Buffy's hand. 

As she did, Buffy felt something like a rushing wind flow past her. The cross was incandescent in Emily's hands, blazing like a miniature sun. Emily pulled it to her chest and hugged it to herself, tears of blood spilling from her eyes. The glow enveloped Emily and she began to fade away. 

A whisper caressed Buffy's ears as she felt herself able to move again. Two words. "Thank you." Emily lost form and cohesion as the glow of the cross covered her completely. It seemed to Buffy that, at the last, Emily did not so much dissolve into ashes as ascend into light. 
    
    * * *

In Sunnydale, thunderclouds had been gathering through the night. Lightning and thunder flashed and roared. The wind began to howl and rise. 
    
    * * *

Willow Rosenberg looked at her screen as lightning sent a power surge through her equipment. The screen fritzed slightly. Willow sighed in annoyance. She logged off the net. "Guess I'd better turn in now. There's a storm coming." 
    
    * * *

Rupert Giles put down his Watcher's diaries and rubbed his eyes. He had had this feeling of...dread, throughout the night, but he'd found nothing in the prophecies to explain it. Finally, he picked up the phone to call Buffy. With her mother out of town on a buying trip, Buffy would be alone. So there wouldn't be any need to explain why the librarian was calling at three-thirty in the morning. The phone rang and rang, but no one answered. 
    
    * * *

In their current hideout, Angelus paced and cursed. Spike watched in bemusement from his wheelchair and Drusilla sat on the floor, singing and whispering to herself. 

"I was just *this* close to having her when this werewolf interfered." explained Angelus for the tenth time. 

"Right, mate. Then 'e picked up the Slayer and jumped through a mirror and disappeared. Sounds to me like you drank someone who'd had too much to drink." said Spike in a bored tone. 

"I know what I saw, Rollerboy!" said Angelus, gritting his teeth in anger. "And what's Dru mumbling about?" 

Spike shrugged indifferently, knowing his lack of visible emotion would annoy Angelus. "She's Dru." He looked at Drusilla. "What're you saying there, pet?" 

Drusilla looked up at them with wide eyes. "They're kno-cking, kno-cking and they want to be let in. Someone's come calling. Someone's at the door." She resumed her rocking and singing. 
    
    * * *

In the center of an empty construction site that promised the swift arrival of a new mall, nothing stirred. Imbedded within the cement foundation, special runes carved into the rock began to glow and hum. Soon, they seemed to sing, very soon. 
    
    * * *

Buffy turned away from the place Emily had faded. She began striding into the rising wind, needing to get back to the sigil being drawn. Then three shapes stepped into her path. 

They were in Crinos form, their claws and teeth covered in blood. Their bodies were covered in a greenish rash. They looked at her, hungrily. 

Buffy pulled her only weapon, a dagger *not* made of silver. 

"I don't suppose we can talk about this, huh guys?" she asked. 

They continued to advance, drool dripping from their jaws. 

She brandished the knife at them. "Okay, I'm warning you. Back off *right now* or somebody's gonna get hurt!" She gave them her best Slayer glare. 

Abruptly, the three backed up, turned and fled away from her. She looked at them with eyes wide in surprise. "Wow!" she said. "I guess I look scarier than I thought." 

"I reckon so, little lady." rasped a leathery voice from behind her. 

The runes being carved into the soft earth were beginning to shine with a sickly green glow. Abruptly, Belial stopped carving and stood. "Well, shit. Power's out of it. Thought I'd have the power generators and the dish to compensate. Now where am I gonna find some more vampire blood way out here?" he asked aloud. 

Melissa hissed into her com unit. "Andru, get me the fuck oughta here now!" 

"Tryin' babe. There's an atmospheric wierdness shapin' up down there. The lightning's screwin' with the teleport lock-on." the surfer voice said. 

Melissa saw Belial look at her. "Well whadaya know?" he said, smirking. "Seek and ye shall find." He walked toward her, Dagger in hand. 

Buffy spun at the sound saw found herself face-to-nose with a pale horse. The creature was huge at close range, bigger than a Clydesdale. It's lower legs were spattered with blood and gore. It opened its mouth and made an odd hissing noise, revealing vampiric fangs as it did. 

"Careful, there darlin'. We've been together a long time, but Horse here's still a mite unpredictable. And he tends to snap at strangers." Buffy stepped back and looked up at the speaker. 

Blackthorn was looking down at her. A smoking gun was in his left hand. His right held the reins. A severed Dancer's head had it's teeth buried in one of his legs. 

"Um," said Buffy, pointing at the head, "you've got something..." 

He looked down and brushed the head away like a piece of lint. It tumbled to ground and landed with a faint, wet sound. 

"Belial's pullin' his boys in around himself. He's tryin' to make sure we can't bust through before he finishes. We haven't got time to wait for the rest of the Widers and Nosferatu to rally here. If we're gonna stop him, it's gotta be now." he said, stone-cold determination filling his voice. 

"What do we have to do?" asked Buffy. 

"Ride through their lines, kill the son of a bitch and close the gate." he said. 

"Oh, give me a *hard* one why don't you?" said Buffy. "And how do we get through their lines without getting shot?" 

"*We* don't. You do." he said. "You sit right up against me and hold onto to the saddle. Don't expose any part o' your body you don't want them to shoot off. I'll blow a hole through their lines. You hop off, get the Dagger and close the gate. Mel told you 'bout that, didn't she?" he asked. 

"Yeah, but what about you?" asked Buffy. 

"Me and Horse've had worse'n these dipshits." he said in that raspy, cold voice. "It'll still be dangerous for you. You got the grit for it?" he asked her. 

Buffy deepened her voice to imitate his as closely as possible. "I reckon so." she said. 

He chuckled, a rumbling sound like an uneasily dormant volcano. "Then hop up. We got some riding to do." 

Gracefully, Buffy leapt onto the horse's cold, broad back behind him. She gripped the wide saddle and huddled against his broad back and legs, trying to make herself as small of a target as possible. 

She saw him put the reins in his teeth and draw his other gun. He kicked his legs and spurred Horse into motion. Horse quickly accelerated into a gallop, his hooves slamming into the ground with a sound that balanced the overhead thunder. Buffy heard the wind scream past her as they rode to war on the wings of the storm. 

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	18. Chapter 18

Interesting Times

Interesting Times [_by John Jones_][1]

  


See part 1 

Part Twenty-Nine

"Andru, *now* would be a really good time!" said Melissa, hoping to feel the familiar tingle of the teleporter. "Beam me the fuck outta here,Scotty." 

Belial raised the Dagger. "Okay, now. Open wide and say 'Aagghhh!'" he said, snickering."Fuck *you!*" said Melissa. 

Belial stabbed down with the Dagger and then yelled "Aggghh!" as the blade fell from his hand. Coming in under his Obfuscate, Cyke had launched himself at the possessing demon and begun chewing on his leg. Belial staggered and tried to shake the little boy from his leg, but the child-vampire was too strong. He felt himself weakening from blood loss. 

Melissa concentrated on the Dagger, trying to telekinetically grasp it, but her injuries were too great for her to activate even her mentally based powers. She could only lie there helplessly, waiting for the grim struggle's conclusion. In the distance she heard automatic weapons firing and the echo of Blackthorn's guns sending his enemies to hell. 

Cyke let go of Belial's leg and jumped for his throat. Calling on the martial arts abilities of his host, Belial used the boy's momentum to flip him away. Then he dove for the Dagger. Cyke, somewhat maddened by the potent blood he'd ingested, charged again. "You won't hurt my friendsss." he hissingly shouted. 

"Naw, ya little shit, first I'm gonna hurt *you!*" The little vampire jumped again as Belial limpingly sidestepped and plunged the Dagger into his eye. Screaming and hissing, Cyke tumbled to the ground. 

"Oh, dear." said the demon mockingly. "Looks like snake-baby got somethin' in his eye." The boy's struggles ceased and his body decayed, leaving only a partial skeleton. The X-man watch was still wrapped around one bony wrist. Belial retrieved the Dagger and walked back towardMelissa. "You piece of shit!" she said. "I'll kill you. I'll fuckin' *kill* you!" she cursed, bloody tears of helpless rage leaking from her eyes. 

Belial kicked her in the face, laying open her cheek to the bone. "You know," he said in jovially vicious tone, "I oughta pull some o' your teeth and make you use that mouth for something a *lot* more fun than talking. Sort of a reminder o' where you came from." He sighed in disappointment and flipped the Dagger into a throwing position. "But I just don't have the time." 

He tossed it as a glow enveloped her and she vanished away. The Dagger pierced the ground an instant later. "Shit. Back to work now." he said. 
    
    * * *

The horse thundered across the ground as the sky replied in kind. Buffy peeked out to see a loose line a figures ahead, running and struggling to get into position. A slash of lightning illumined their mishapen forms for an instant. Then automatic weapons opened up. 

Suddenly, thunder and hellfire filled the air as Blackthorn began shooting. His twin guns uttered a sentence of death to each figure that crossed their line of fire. The crash of the weapons seemed to drown out even the fury of the coming storm. In Blackthorn's hands, the guns seemed to glow with eager lethality. 

Buffy felt the thudding impacts of the enemy bullets as they slammed into Blackthorn's body. Aside from a grunt of discomfort he shrugged them off as though they were raindrops and continued his killing work. With a burst of speed they were among the enemy. 

Buffy saw the human soldiers trying to line up for shots as Blackthorn's weapons smashed the life from them. She buried her face in his back, as much to shut out the gruesome sights as to seek cover. 

A growl nearby revived her. She saw a vampire, fangs displayed, leaping at her. She smashed the heel of her hand into his nose, knocking him down. One of Horse's feet pulped his head and he dissolved. A bullet nicked her arm and she almost fell off. 

They slowed slightly as Horse seized an ambitious Dancer in its fanged jaws, dragging it along as it drained the creature. Finally Horse chomped the beast's head off, letting the body fall away. More bullets smashed into Horse and Blackthorn, but they kept moving. Finally, they werethrough. Looking out again, Buffy saw Belial toss something at a figure she thought was Melissa. A glow emanated from the figure as it disappeared. 

Blackthorn wheeled the horse to face the converging enemy. "You go finish this. I'll hold them here." he rasped. 

Buffy slid from the horse. "Are you going to be all right?" she asked, seeing the converging horde. 

Beneath the hat's shadow, she thought she glimpsed teeth bared in a vicious grin. "Don't worry about me." he said. "Worry about *them.*" He spurred the horse forward, firing as he went, reaping a harvest of death among his enemies. 

Buffy saw Belial carving in the ground, wielding the glowing Dagger like a demonic paintbrush. She saw something white lying on the ground. A skeleton. A small skeleton with a new X-man watch wrapped forlornly around his wristbones. 

Fury welled up in the Slayer's heart. "That's it, you bastard. Giles or no Giles, this ends *now!*" she vowed. 
    
    * * *

Belial added one last circle and raised the Dagger with a florish. "It is *finished!*" The storm itself seemed to hold its breath in anticipation. He stabbed the Dagger at the ground. 

The hand of a small girl caught and held his wrist in an iron grip just before the blade touched the earth. "No, *you're* the one that's finished." said Buffy. She knocked him down with a snap-kick to the chin. He fell to the ground. The Dagger slid from his grasp and fell blade first right in the center of the diagram. The earth began to rumble, a drumming sound to herald the Apocalypse. 
    
    * * *

In Sunnydale, cracks began forming in the foundation of the construction site. Sickly green energy spilled up from below. The earth began to shake, groaning in protest at the invasion soon to follow. 
    
    * * *

Giles finished reading the dusty volume of one of the oldest diaries, one he hadn't even *seen* until now. He'd found it in a box that had been mislabeled when he'd moved from England. He'd learned a few things from the earliest Watchers, but nothing that shed any light. Something terrible was happening, he could feel it. But he hadn't the faintest clue what to do about it. 
    
    * * *

Willow was tumbled out of bed and just managed to stop her computer from falling to the floor. Setting it in a safer place, she moved to get dressed. Either the San Andreas fault had made *serious* travel plans or something was going *really* wrong Hellmouth-wise. 
    
    * * *

In the hideout Angelus and Spike watched Drusilla in growing irritation and anxiety, respectively. A wide, eager smile on her deceptively delicate face, she began calling aloud. "They're coming, they're coming!" She stopped for a second, seeming to listen. Then her eyes shone with dark anticipation as she whispered, "They're here!" 
    
    * * *

At the construction site, the ground caved in and the mall's skeleton collapsed into the greenish glow. A terrible moan of eager glee sounded from the pit. And a hand, wet and gleaming, newly formed from the stolen substance of the earth, thrust itself from one the cracks. 
    
    * * *

Belial wiped the blood from Giles' mouth. "Never woulda thought you'd take Emily out. Guess you just don't play well with others." he bared his teeth in a cruel grin. "Of course, neither do I." and he lunged at her. 

Buffy moved to block him, but it was a feint. He kicked her in the ribs while she was off-balance, knocking her down. A wide crack opened in the earth where she fell. She rolled into it, just catching herself at the crumbling lip of the fissure. She looked down. A void seemd to stretch into infinity. A void filled with terrible shapes that seemed to swim ever closer. 

Pain suddenly flared in Buffy's fingers as Belial ground his heel into her hand. "Uh-oh, honey. I think you broke a nail." he sneered. 

Gritting her teeth against the pain. Buffy swung under the gap in the ground and then twisted herself into a backflip. Using her hand to grip the ground she flipped through the air and sent the heels of her feet hurtling toward his smirking face. 

Belial moved his hands to parry her, planning to redirect her momentum and send Buffy plunging into the hellish void. His hands suddenly froze while out of position and voice echoed through the body he shared. "Not bloody likely!" Frozen in place he could only watch as Buffy's feet came at him. 

Buffy felt her kick slam home and knock Giles' body flying. Giles fell limply to the ground, unconscious. Buffy sighed in relief and moved to get the Dagger. 

Before she could reach it, she saw something black, small and mistlike oozed from his mouth and nose. There was a hissing sound as it spoke in a nameless tongue. It began to grow and solidify. 
    
    * * *

Scratches was surrounded by Dancers and vampires. While Blackthorn's force was well-trained and motivated by vengeance and justice, numbers were winning the day. They closed in on him and he prepared to die, hoping to take as many with him as he could. 

Suddenly, his enemies began clutching their chests and coughing up blood. They burst like overripe tomatoes as something was ripped from them. All around the battlefield Belial's forces fell dead and dying. 
    
    * * *

"Told you I was legion." Belial had assumed the form of a dark-haired young man with perfect teeth filed to points. He wore tight leather pants and his naked chest was covered in fur and scales. His eyesockets were empty, their edges rimmed with teeth. A tongue emerged from one those empty holes and tasted the air. 

"Ugh!" said Buffy, making a disgusted face. "Now I know why you want to bring Hell to Earth, no dress code." 

"Among other reasons." Belial said with edgy casualness. "One of the fun things about hell is that there's no restrictions on minors gaining entry." With supernatural speed he lunged forward and slammed his fist into Buffy's stomach, doubling her over and knocking her back. "As you will soon discover." 

"I gotta ask, with that outfit, how many Billy Idol albums do you own?" asked Buffy, inhaling quickly to catch her breath. 

"Oh you're going to live long and painfully for that one. Nobody disses the threads." He lunged at her and she dodged away. 

"*Disses?*" questioned Buffy, "who are you supposed to be now, Belial Ice?" She tried to add injury to insult by snapkicking him in thekneecap. Belial smirked at her. "Ouch. I almost *felt* that one. Now where was I? Oh yes." He slashed out at her with talons that sprang from hisfingertips. Buffy stepped back and the ground crumbled near her foot, throwing her off-balance. Belial seized the advantage by smashing a fist into the side of Buffy's head, knocking her down. 

"I know it's not sportsmanlike to kick somebody when they're down." he said in a cruelly commiserating voice. He drove the toe of his boot into Buffy's ribcage. "But it's just so much *fun!*" 

Buffy felt blackness tearing at her vision. She felt another kick, this time to her stomach, and another to her head. On the ragged edge of unconsciousness, she seemed to her singing. 

Lyrics: Lightning crashes, a new mother cries. 

Belial's furious gaze snapped over to Giles. He was sitting up, and Live's "Lightning Crashes" was coming from the speaker system. "Might as well get *something* decent out of those electronic monstrosities." said Giles, glaring at his recent tormentor. 

"I don't know what you're trying to pull, but you will live *just* long enough to regret it." said Belial running at the mage. 

Buffy felt the pain starting to recede. 

Lyrics: This moment she's been waiting for. 

Belial fired a bolt of dark energy at Giles. It slammed into the faint outline of a shield that deflected it away. 

"Not quite that easy, is it, imp?" taunted Giles. 

Belial glared in anger and sent his hate at Giles in a continuous stream of dark power, searing into the shield. 

Lyrics: The angel opens her eyes; pale blue colored iris, 

Buffy shook her head, throwing off the pain and dizziness. She got up. 

Sweat poured off Giles brow as he threw his utter effort into maintaining the shield. Belial had the birthing gateway to hell from which to draw energy. Giles had only his determination and will. It would have to be enough. 

Belial walked toward Giles, intensifying his blasts as he moved closer. Cracks began forming in the shield. 

Lyrics: Presents the circle and puts the glory out to hide, hide, hide. 

Buffy reached the Dagger. Belial was distracted by his battle with Giles. She gripped the hilt and twisted it to the right. Nothing happened. Her mouth fell open in amazed despair and then she felt through her connection with the Dagger what was wrong. It didn't have enough power in it to reverse the gateway. 

Lyrics: Oh, now, feel it, comin' back again, 

With a ghoulish chuckle Belial saw the shield shatter. His dark power enveloped Giles, holding him fast. "I could just incinerate you, but I always liked the *personal* touch." Belial speared Giles in the chest with a talon, puncturing a lung. Oddly enough, through the pain, Giles was smiling. 

"That's funny," said Buffy in a voice cold with anger, "so do *I!*" As Belial turned, too late, Buffy buried the Dagger hilt deep in his chest. 

Lyrics: Like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind. 

Belial staggered back, seeming to shrink as the Dagger drained his power. He stood balanced on a precipice above the growing void. As Buffy moved in he pulled the Dagger out. It dropped from his weakened grip. 

"You...little...bitch!" he breathed. "I'll send you straight to hell for that!" He tried to step forward. 

"You first." said Buffy as she launched into flying kick that slammed into the place he'd been wounded. Squealing in pain and terror, he fell intothe pit. Lyrics: Forces pullin' from the center of the earth again. 

Buffy grabbed the Dagger and raced to the center of the sigil. Hands ending in claws were rising out of the cracks in the earth. Two of them grabbed her legs and started pulling her down as she stabbed the Dagger into the ground, turned it to the right, and prayed. 

Lyrics: I can feel it, I can feel it; I can feel it comin' back again... 
    
    * * *

At the construction site, a head poked up from a crack. It sniffed the air and cried to its fellows in triumph and anticipation of feasting to come. Then something went wrong. The force that had been propelling them forward suddenly bagan dragging them back. The demon grabbed at the crumbling earth. It faded away and the demon fell, screeching its rage to the uncaring void. 
    
    * * *

Drusilla wore a puzzled expression on her face. "They're-They're going?" Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "They're gone!" 

Spike patted her on the shoulder. "Now, now pet. I'm sure they'll be back, whoever they were." 

She looked up at him and Angelus and a smile brightened her pale features. "Why, you're right, luv. They *will* be back, eventually." 

Angelus smiled indulgently at Dru. "Well, I for one can't wait." 

She smiled at him as Spike muttered below his breath, "I can." 
    
    * * *

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief as the demons were torn away, sucked back to the place they'd come. The cracks stopped and the storm began to fade. She went to Giles. He was breath painfully, trying to drag air in through his tortured lung. "You'll be okay. He's gone. They're all gone." shesaid. 

"Oh Gods, I'm so terribly- gods!" he said, filled with self-disgust. 

Buffy saw several figures approaching them. Another tremor shook the earth. The Dagger fell away into a light-filled void that had openedunder it. "Buffy, get out of here now!" hissed Giles. "Jump!" 

As the earth began to fall away under her feet, she grabbed him as Scratches loped up. "You first." she said and tossed him to Scratches. "No!" coughed Giles. "I can't lose you again! Not again!" Buffy sank into the light and it pulled her away. 

As the light touched her, Buffy felt a wierd confidence. "I'm all right. Tell him I'll be all right!" 

Her last sight was of Giles in Scratches' wolflike arms. Before the force of the pull dragged her away, she heard Giles speak one final time. "May God keep you safe through all the empty places you must walk. Be well,child." 

Then the light yanked her away and was replaced by darkness. 

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	19. Epilogue

Interesting Times

Interesting Times [_by John Jones_][1]

  


See part 1 

Epilogue

"...and when I woke up, I was outside the construction site." finishedBuffy. Fortunately it was a Saturday, and Buffy had been able to catch up on some *much* needed sleep. She looked around the library table. Willow sat in her chair, looking attentive. Giles seemed slightly lost in thought. 

Xander looked sympathetic and had his arm around Cordelia's shoulders. Cordelia's face was marred by an expression of anger and grief. She looked up at Buffy. 

"Fine," Cordelia said. "You get to go off and run around and meet Elvis. But what about *me?* Don't any of you understand. They were going to have a Sak's Fifth Avenue in that new mall. A *Sak's!*" Cordelia buried her face in her hands in despair as Xander held her a little closer. 

Buffy opened her mouth to reply to the taller girl's diatribe and then just shook her head and let the subject drop. 

"Well, I think it's incredible." said Willow. "Especially the part about the magical computers. I would *love* to get one of those. My IBM would be *so* gone!""So, Buff, did you bring us any souvenirs?" asked Xander. "Sorry, Xander. I guess I went to another dimension and all I got was this lousy T-shirt." said Buffy, touching her shirt. "Well," she said, remembering Melissa and the others, and her brief friendship with them, "maybe that's not *all* I got." 

"I only wish y-you'd been able to bring the Dagger back. Such an artifact would have made for *fascinating* study." said Giles, dressed in his comfortably familiar tweed. Buffy was so glad to see *her* Giles that she'd promised herself that she'd never tease him about tweed again. She even intended to *keep* that promise, at least for a couple of days. 

"How exactly *did* you get back, Buffy?" asked Willow."Beats me." she said. 

"I can only assume that since she was native to this world, and the effect she'd called up involved banishing the demons to *their* home world, the "tide", so to speak, carried her home." explained Giles. 

"Well," finished Buffy. "I'm just glad it's over and I'm back on the Hellmouth where it's *safe.*" 

Except for a still grieving Cordelia, they all laughed. 
    
    * * *

Later that night and a couple hundred miles away in Los Angeles, Maria Vasquez stared in fear at her attacker. He was a tall, blond young man, with a cold sneer on his lips and a gun in his hand. "Now gimme the money, bitch, or I'll blow you away. Damn wetbacks." 

Haltingly, she tried to explain that she had no money, that the man who owned the sewing shop had delayed their paychecks again. 

"Fine," he said. "I told you 'your money or your life.' Guess we know which I'm taking." He steadied the gun and Maria began to pray. 

Somehing whistled through the Los Angeles night and slammed into the man's head, knocking him down. Maria looked at her mugger in shock. A knife was embedded in the top of his head. She looked at it. Red and white stones were embedded in the hilt. It slid free, cutting through the skull like butter and lay gleaming on the ground. 

Cautiously, Maria picked it up and looked at it. The blade was clean. She looked at the hilt again, examining the gemstones. A thing like this she could sell. Her cousin worked in an antique shop and would get her a good price. She might even get enough money to quit her job and go toschool. She pocketed the blade and thanked God for this doubly fortunatehappening. 
    
    * * *

On the same night, just outside a small Texas town, William Loman rubbed his eyes. He'd been driving most of the night, trying to get to El Paso for a meeting of himself and other sales personel to discuss the redistribution of sales territory. Said meeting to be held at nine in the morning. 

Loman was afraid of flying, and besides, whatever the statistics said, he knew in his bones that driving was safer. Not so far to fall if something went wrong.Suddenly, without so much as a sputter, the engine died and the car coasted to a stop. 

"Godammit!" Loman shouted, pounding the wheel in frustration. He popped the hood and got out of car. Unless it was something like adding some oil, he was in deep shit. Loman knew less than nothing about cars except how to drive one, and after a few beers he tended to forget most of that. He checked the oil. It was full and he sighed in frustration. His cell phone was on the blink as well. He had resigned himself to a long walk back to town when a voice with a Texas accent spoke. "Looks like you could use a hand there, partner." 

The headlights showed a young man wearing dusty demin and a faded shirt. His hair was black and oddly enough, he wore sunglasses. A traveling pack sat on his shoulders. Hitchiker, thought Loman warily. Just what I need. "I was just heading back to town to get a mechanic." he said, watching the young man."Hell, they're all closed this time o' night." he said in an open, friendly voice. "Tell you what, you gimme a ride up the road and I'll take a look at her for ya. You look like a man in a hurry." 

"You get this thing to run and I'll take you anywhere you want." offered Loman, then temporized, "as long as it's El Paso." 

The stranger chuckled. "Deal. Get in the car and try to start her when I say." Loman and got in. After a short time he heard the man say. "Now try it." The car started right up. Loman breathed a sigh of relief. His savior tossed his pack in the backseat and got in. 

They started driving. "So, you got a name?" asked Loman. 

"Ben." he said. "Benjamin Lyle.""You live around these parts, Ben?" Loman asked. "I used to a real long time ago. Right now I'm just gonna walk the world, see what there is to see and chow down on all that life has to offer." he said, favoring Loman with a toothy grin."Any plans for the future?" asked Loman. 

"I figure to head up California way in a while. There's this pretty little blond girl lives in a small town called Sunnydale. I'm anxious to renew our acquaintence." He smiled that unsettling grin again, then cocked his head, listening to the radio. 

"Say, isn't that Don Henley doin' "Garden of Allah?" I love that song. Let's turn it up." said Ben. 

Loman shrugged his assent and the song played louder, filling the car as they drove into the Texas night. 

Lyrics: And the fruit is rotten, the serpent's eyes shine, as he wraps around the vine...in the Garden of Allah. 

THE END 

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	20. Chapter 1

#  Interesting Times

###  **_ [by JohnTFS][1]_**

[][2]

  


* * *

###  Part One

* * *

Buffy completed one last patrol circuit near the graveyard and finally decided to head home. Wherever the fang gang was, it wasn't in Sunnydale. Not that there wasn't excitement. Oh no, Gemini Development, a division of the Pentex corporation, and wasn't everyone sick of _that _addendum; had announced plans for a shopping mall to be constructed. 

The prefab shell would be ready and open for business by the beginning of summer. Cordelia had almost been orgasmic at the news. _Something that probably hadn't happened since last weeks date with Xander,_ Buffy thought nastily. She sighed and continued her walk, heading for a McDonald's for chow. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the form following her. 

After waiting in line a bit, Buffy had her meal in relative peace and left McDonald's. She was still scarfing down a few fries when she sensed something behind her. It was a large, ratty looking dog. His, (for some reason it seemed like a "him") fur was dirty and there was no collar to be seen, but the creature seemed friendly enough. He walked forward, tongue out, toward her. 

Buffy tensed slightly, even to a Slayer, a wild dog could pose a problem. The dog stopped short of her, sniffed toward the food in her hands and whined pitifully. It was obviously intent on seducing her of her fries. "No, you're not getting my fries, a Slayer needs her food." said Buffy attempting to shoo the dog away (And on reflection, the creature looked a bit more like a coyote, than a dog). The creature just looked longingly from her to her fries, the same pitiful look that said "Feed me!" Finally, with a growl of irritation, she complied and the beast wolfed down the remains of her meal. Then it stiffened, and answered her growl with one of its own. 

But her Slayer-enhanced instincts had already sensed peril. "You shouldn't be so quick to feed the hungry beasts, Buffy. You never know when they'll bite the hand that feeds them." Angelus was there, his lips looked human, if one ignored the trace of blood on them. 

"What's the matter, jealous?" taunted Buffy, to cover her own pain. "Go home, boy." she commanded the dog, "The Slayer's just gotta take out some old trash!" With that she launched a flying kick at him and drew forth a stake. 

The kick caught him in his perfect face, hurling him backwards as two other vamps lunged out of the darkness. The dog, in a bizarre display of fearlessness, leaped at one of them, its teeth sinking into the creature's shoulder, making it hiss in pain. 

Buffy, meanwhile was beginning to have problems. She was having trouble watching Angelus and his buddy at the same time. As she moved to avoid the second vampire's rush, Angelus caught her a vicious kick to the ribs. Pain flared in her side and she felt bone give before more than human strength. The other vamp attempted to take advantage, rushing her. At the last instant she got the stake up and in his heart. He vanished into ashes. 

"This night the Slayer is slain!" declared Angelus, his face a twisted parody of the one she'd loved. He kicked her beneath the chin, sending her sprawling. He leapt on her. She was ready with stake, but not ready enough. The wooden implement plunged into his stomach. He grabbed it, ripped it out of himself and hurled it away. "Now you die!" he hissed. "And all you love after!" 

"Not in *this* lifetime." she promised and kicked his wounded belly, throwing him away from her. She got to her feet and they faced each other. 

The dog was still pinning the other vampire, sustaining deep scratches on his flanks to do so. Angelus charged again. Buffy prepared to flip him with a tai chi move, but he'd feinted and snap kicked her in the knee. She fell and he was on her, punching and trying for the killing bite. 

She shoved her cross against his flesh and he hissed in pain. But his agony strengthen him. He pounded her face into the road, Once, twice, three times. As she finally blacked out, she could swear the growls of the dog sounded almost...human.[][2]

* * *

Scratches-at-Fleas saw the battle going poorly. Despite her skill, the girl was losing to the leech she fought, as her injury weakened her. As the vampire pounded her face, Scratches-at-Fleas shifted to the Hispo form. 

The vampire fighting the large dog gasped in shock. In the space of seconds it had transformed into something out "American Werewolf in London. Its shock died as swiftly as it did though, Scratches knocked the things head from its shoulders with one swipe of his now huge paws. Then Scratches faced his final opponent. 

Scratches-at-Fleas assumed the crinos form, and growled "Flee or die, leech!" 

Angelus looked up to see a huge shape. It was easily seven feet tall, resembling the werewolves from "The Howling", but far more menacing for its physical presence. The thing bounded forward with deceptive agility and knocked Angelus sprawling. The vampire rolled to his feet and hissed in rage. Then it turned and fled. There would be another time. There always was. 

Scratches sniffed and licked the girl, but aside from steady breathing there was no response. He knew naught of this place, but the girl needed help. He gathered her still form in his arms and loped away to find the way home. 

Fortune was with him tonight, for the humans were indoors. Those that weren't he easily avoided. He was growing frustrated though. He couldn't fully understand the human's signs. Some instinct made him stop before one store, "Fred's Antiques". He called upon his spirit gift and looked inside. 

The inside was dark, but his gift made it seem nearly light as day. He saw what he needed inside, against the wall. His concentration cost him though, as pain burned across his huge shoulders and a gunshot echoed in the night. 

Silver bullets, fur-ball" grinned a vamped out, triumphant Angelus. "Time to get me a new rug _and_ a tasty snack!" As the vampire aimed again, Scratches-at-Fleas acted. 

Shielding the girl, he leapt through the plate glass window and strode to the mirror he'd seen inside. He rubbed his fetish tattoo and tried to concentrate, to banish impending death from his mind. 

Angelus ran to the shattered window, gun held ready. Inside, he saw the werewolf, Buffy in his arms, leap at a mirror inside and vanish! In a rage he entered ran to the mirror, smashing it, trying to find a secret panel. Nothing! With the store's alarm stinging his ears, Angelus fled into the night. 

* * *

[][2]

Pain. Pain and darkness. And now disembodied voice pierced Buffy's mind. "Whoa, major babeage." came a California surfer like voice. "Great, now even the _dog's _bring in strays." came a young, sarcastic, female voice. "Grrrr!" this a growl, apparently in answer. "Bite me, flea bag." came the girl's response. 

"I should take care, Melissa," came another girl's voice, though this one sounded more mature somehow. "Scratches might take you up on the idea." "Yeah, right. How come_ he _gets to take home a stray and _I_ don't?" asked Melissa. 

"Because of what happened last time." came the older girl's voice. "Yeah," said Surfer dude. "I kinda think Hanson would've wanted their lead singer back." 

"Andru, why don't you french-kiss my- Hey, I think she's up!" With a groan Buffy opened her eyes. 

The group clustered around her was eclectic to say the least. The guy, Andru, sat in a wheelchair. He wore VR goggles that covered his eyes and wrapped around his stringy blonde hair. Torn jeans and a food stained "Neuromancer" T-shirt completed the ensemble. The girl had passed eclectic and into the strange. She was tiny, maybe five feet tops and probably weighed less than ninety pounds. She appeared to be asian but it was hard to tell. Her eyes were outlined in a raccoon mask of black make-up. Her hair was dyed albino white with purple, red and green streaks through it. She wore a black fishnet halter top and what appeared to be yellow bermuda shorts. She was glaring at Buffy, who recognized her as a vampire. 

The other girl seemed unaware or unconcerned about her companion's undead state. She seemed the most normal, if one ignore the chain mail armor she wore and the broadsword, presumably hers that leaned against the wall. Buffy could sense something off about her as well. Meanwhile the dog she'd seen earlier was sitting up seemingly grinning. 

Buffy looked around, she was apparently in someone's bedroom, maybe the vamp's. Posters of Hanson, Jewel and some group called "Baby Chorus" adorned the walls. There were no windows. A florescent light provided illumination. 

Buffy licked her lips and looked from one face to another. "Um, who are you guys."

Melissa looked back at her and replied. "We're the Rat Pack. And you're gonna help us save the world."[][2]

[Chapter 2][3]   
  
  
[][4]

   [1]: johntfs@hotmail.com
   [2]: times2.html
   [3]: times02.html
   [4]: http://SlayerFanfic.com



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